All My Sons – Darlinghurst Theatre Co

Overview

The writing of Arthur Miller still feels exhilarating. Working in the mid-20th century (sometimes while playing husband to Marilyn Monroe), he crafted American suburban dramas that expound on the great incompatibilities of family, capitalism, morality and social responsibility. In that way, they're basically the postwar generation's Breaking Bad. And, as we presume will be the case with BB, his works have a lot of wit, wisdom and heartache to impart to audiences 60 years on.

All My Sons, Miller's first commercially successful play, follows a neighbourhood reunion in the American mid-west. The joy and nostalgia of the moment is darkened by secrets, upsets and deceptions planted long ago.

Everything revolves around the household of Joe Keller (Marshall Napier) and his wife, Kate (Toni Scanlan). His grown-up son, Chris (Andrew Henry) is back in the house to greet Anne (Meredith Penman), who may as well be family — she's Chris's childhood friend, his MIA brother's former girlfriend and the daughter of Joe's former business partner. She'll be even further embedded in the family if Chris's planned marriage proposal is accepted.

There are obstacles: Kate still believes her son Larry will return from war and she won't entertain notions otherwise. Anne's brother, George (Anthony Gooley), is on his way with a message from his jailed father. The endless stream of neighbours traversing the Kellers' lawns has a way of stirring the pot. And there are those pesky, swirling secrets.

This production of All My Sons is inaugurating a brand-new theatre space in Sydney, the Eternity Playhouse, the new home of the Darlinghurst Theatre Company. It's great to see Sydney's theatre scene expanding so — the venue (created with the City of Sydney and Tonkin Zulaikha Greer architects) looks smashing and this show is an auspicious beginning.

While the production is quite staid — period costume, literal staging, none of that 'director's theatre' jazz that so irks some people about recent projects at STC and Belvoir — it's done very, very well. And it's right that there should be a space for that sort of traditional, playwright-centred theatre in Sydney (though that's not all that's going on at the Darlinghurst Theatre Company. The 2014 season includes a show titled The Motherf**ker in the Hat, so it's not all that stuffy).

It's the performances from the stellar cast that make All My Sons so exceptionally riveting. The permutations of characters on stage are constantly shifting, and with each actor's entrance comes a new, different wave of energy that perks you up in your seat. It helps that this dynamic is hardwired into the script, with characters constantly gossiping about whoever's not present so as to prod your anticipation.

Napier is a commanding presence in a role that recalls his work as that other American patriarch, Big Daddy, earlier in the year. A touch of vulnerability is essential to pulling off Joe, however, and Napier handles that balance with finesse. Scanlan is an equal wonder as Kate, who always knows more and exerts more control than you think she can — until the moment she can't. It's a big cast, and under the direction of Iain Sinclair, no-one lets the side down.

I could take or leave the production and sound design, by Luke Ede and Nate Edmondson respectively. Two gaping entrances in the back wall prove a confusing and pointless distraction (if they're a permanent feature of the configuration, well, good luck with that, future Eternity set designers), while the cascading white clapboard background does not inspire the imagination as was intended. The sound design often interferes in an obvious fashion, with the swelling music in the show's climax the worst offender.

Nevertheless, All My Sons is a joy. Go see a timeless tale and welcome a theatre honouring Eternity.

Image by Brett Boardman.