All My Sons by Arthur Miller
It's good to welcome director, Kate Wasserberg, back to Mold, particularly when she has given us a high impact, explosive production as this one is. Arthur Miller's 1947 play has lost none of its gripping narrative power nor any of its emotional punch.
There are strong hints of the seismic shocks to come as the audience takes in the fact that Mark Bailey's set appears to be falling apart. The broken tree has been caused by the wind during the night but there's a sense that the twisted window frames may have been caused by something more apocalyptic.
But, of course, the emotions lie in the characters and it is up to the actors to reveal them to us. And there is no holding back from any of them. Things may start out quietly as the Keller family receive a visit from their ex-neighbours' daughter. Her father, Joe Keller's one-time partner, is languishing in jail, found guilty of issuing faulty aircraft parts resulting in the deaths of several pilots. Joe too was accused but later acquitted.
He is a little nervous in case the past is coming back to haunt him. Ian Burfield conveys very well a monumental man who is outwardly confident and certain of his world but who is also vulnerable. Siān Howard is his wife, Kate, who won't admit that one of her sons is probably dead rather than simply missing. She is the seemingly vulnerable one who proves to have strength and resilience.
Simon Holland Roberts is the son who came back from war and who wants to move on with life but who has difficulty emerging from the shadow of his father and his brother.
These three are the raw emotional core of the play and when those emotions blaze forth the impact on the audience is overpowering. Adding weight to those feelings are the ex-neighbours, sister Ann who provides the ultimate damning letter, and brother George, exploding onto the scene after visiting his father in jail. Catrin Aaron and Matthew Bulgo are utterly convincing estranged siblings in the parts.
The smaller quieter roles, equally well played, are the neighbours who flesh out the community Joe and Kate live in. But it's the Kellers who are at the core of this devastating
play and whose emotions tear us to shreds by its end.
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