You know that when two estranged brothers, who have both led very different lives, return home for their father’s funeral, you know a lot of stuff that was once left unsaid will now resurface, writes Michael Holland.
Anders Lustgarten’s The City And The Town opens when Ben(Samuel Collings) walks into a messy flat that he once called home before leaving 20 years ago for university and London, where he became a successful lawyer. As he looks around and lets the nostalgia wash over him his brother Magnus(Gareth Watkins) barges in, shaven head, face tattoos, leather jacket, British Bulldog flag-shagger T-shirt and quickly becomes racist, homophobic and abusive. Ben stays as calm as he can.
They both begin drinking beers and the initial animosity mellows as they reminisce about different things, but each time the conversation turns to the family we get a little more information about how, in amongst a drunken mother and a violent father, there was opera, although the memory of it gives little solace.
We discover that Magnus stayed and cared for the father when he became unwell with MS; he talks of how the factory closing down was the beginning of the end for both of them – and the small town that relied on the factory for work. Once that was gone they had to find someone to blame. Immigrants.
As they begin clearing up the flat Ben notices an array of racist and white nationalist books and blames Magnus for radicalising the dad. Magnus, however, says that because he hasn’t been in touch for so long, it is nothing to do with him and will not even allow him to speak at the funeral.
At the interval, we both realised we did not have a clue where this play was going, which was interesting.
Act Two begins with Ben(now with a black eye) and ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey(Amelia Donkor), talking about old times and some of the people in the social circle they were in, but even this turns dark when we discover that Ben just left without any goodbyes and no attempts to explain his sudden departure. She tells of his male privilege allowing him to be successful, but how her being black and female was a barrier to university and a good career, and how it held her back from escaping this small town: ‘And I was smarter than you!’ She adds vehemently.
Magnus enters with dad’s ashes in an urn that he refuses to share with Ben in their scattering, and the rest of the play ties up all the loose ends: Who is Lyndsey? Why did Ben leave? Who beat him up? Why was there so much acrimony between them all, and what will happen to the father’s remains?
Set in just one room, the script has to work hard to keep the audience interested and it does enough. Lustgarten drops little hints at mystery and of more to come throughout the play, and the several reveals in the second half keep us happy right until the end.
Good performances from all with simple direction from Dritëro Kasapi never letting the cast stagnate.
Wilton’s Music Hall, Grace’s Alley, E1 8JB until 25th February. Times: 7.30pm | Thu & Sat matinee 2.30pm. Admission: £13.00 – £27.50 | £10.50 – £24.00 concessions.
Booking: https://wiltons.org.uk/whatson/777-the-city-and-the-town
Check website for tour details: https://www.thecityandthetown.com/
photography © Karl Andre
