Review: Ilford Boy (Donmar Warehouse)
Review by Seth Wilby
⭐⭐⭐
The Donmar Warehouse is revered as one of London’s most prestigious Off West End houses, with its intimate nature and varied programming making it one of my favourite theatres to visit. Already this year, it has dealt with some heavy themes in a programme that’s included both play revivals and new work (with one, The Guilty, having just announced a West End transfer). The baton is now passed to the world premiere production of Ilford Boy, but could this intriguing new play earn its place amongst this accomplished crowd?
Written by Danny Lee Wynter, Ilford Boy is a typical family drama, asking what makes a family and how it influences us. Set in 1995 East London (with occasional flashbacks to 1980), the play takes place as a chaotic and flawed family clears out the home of their deceased mother. As family tensions brew, the story finds focus in the struggles of mixed-race teenager Ted. Brought up on dated ideals of masculinity and tough love, Ted finds a new way to live with the arrival of his mother’s friend, Patrick, who sees him for who he truly his.
The play’s very nature resembles a blurred combination of soap opera and serial drama- there’s a realism to the character development as we move towards an indefinite ending, and the dialogue seems notably dramatised. Wynter’s writing is authentic and funny, with all the wit and charm of a 1990s sitcom, but far less levity. With such televisual properties at its core, it’s no wonder that Wynter has created a play so naturally entertaining, his writing perfectly befitting the genre, setting and time of the piece. The dialogue is cleverly humorous (some exchanges are simply uproarious), the family dynamic is palpably human, and the simplicity of the narrative remains constantly intriguing.
Wynter integrates our core story with ease and sensitivity, gradually letting the audience discover the real Ted (newcomer Leo Whitfield Harris, vulnerable, reserved, and sparkling with excellence in the final scene). Wynter has written Ted with empathy and truth, and the scenes where he ventures out of his shell are delightful- Act One ends with a scene radiating an inspiring, joyful energy after Ted sees Adrian Lester star in the Donmar’s own Company (just one moment in a script sprinkled with amusing meta-theatrical references). The main narrative thrust, however, belongs to Patrick (an incredible Craig Stein), who becomes an unspoken mentor to Ted amongst his own tragic and poignant story.
Unfortunately, though, it isn’t a perfect play. The dramatic stakes are lacking, and too often it feels like we aren’t going anywhere, with act two demanding a more intense payoff. There were several times that tensions neared edge-of-your-seat drama, but these were left underexplored. The flashback scenes, although they offer character-expanding parallels, feel ultimately unnecessary and distract from the main narrative, despite probably being the more compelling of the two timeframes. Drowned out by the surrounding chaos, Ted’s story becomes as unseen as the character himself, and what should be the primary plot line is neglected, offering nothing new to say about this important topic.
Wynter’s writing integrates a multitude of themes, from racism to religion, homophobia to body image, AIDS to domestic abuse, and more, with this creating a nuanced and varied narrative that handles each theme nobly and resonantly. This is most evident in an Act Two dinner scene, where the unspoken tension between all our characters gets close to exploding in Wynter’s thought-provoking and passionate dialogue. However, some of the most interesting discussion is diluted with too many other topics, in a narrative that’s slightly overstuffed and can’t quite balance all that it’s trying to do.
It’s a strong ensemble cast, who perfectly capture the necessary dynamic of this messy family. Aaron Gill’s Raj delivers one profoundly passionate debate, and, as Ted’s father, Ken, Gershwyn Eustache Jnr is terrific, with the change in characterisation across our timeframes and relationship with Stein’s Patrick fascinating. The most depth goes to Ted, Patrick, and Ken, though, with the trio of sisters left disappointingly one-dimensional, despite the performers’ best efforts. Ria Zmitrowicz’s maternal Tillie and Charlotte Jaconelli’s bold Ann possess big personalities, yet it is Jodie McNee who gives a standout performance as Jackie, commanding any scene she’s in with many of the play’s most hilarious one-liners (equally matched by Cary Crankson as soft-spoken husband Trevor, stealing the show in each of his minimal moments).
Tim Sheader has directed with a gentle touch, spreading the action across Peter McKintosh’s striking, two-tiered set, which offers just the right balance between realism and theatricality, despite being perhaps a little too sparse for the context. As the Donmar’s Artistic Director, Sheader clearly has a good grasp of the space’s potential, embracing the thrust stage to allow scenes to play out naturally and discreetly (the dinner scene, however, seems to neglect this, with Sheader positioning the family on all four sides of a crammed table that makes it hard for the audience to fully engage). A tap number before the interval is the direction’s best touch, and is energetically performed by Stein, beckoning in the interval with a sharp silhouette, spotlighted by Aideen Malone’s lighting design, which frames the play throughout. The relationship between Ted and Nan Eileen (a caring Lindsey Coulson) is one of the most touching in the show, and Sheader embraces this for some heartwarming moments, though it could have been nice for the direction to lean even further into some of the narrative’s parallels.
As Ilford Boy nears its end, these characters feel familiar, and this typical soap opera on working-class life has become something much subtler. Wynter’s writing may be overstuffed and imbalanced, but it adds something to the Donmar Warehouse’s varied repertoire that is as entertaining as it is important. Although the play provides nothing revolutionary, the cast are strong, and the dialogue is witty, proving this to be a pleasant play that, with some development, could become something filled with state-of-the-nation potential.
Ilford Boy plays at Donmar Warehouse until 28th November. Tickets from https://allthatdazzles.londontheatredirect.com/play/ilford-boy-tickets
Photos by Helen Murray