ajhlovestheatre

MY FATHER’S FABLE

by Faith Omole

directed by Rebekah Murrell

Bush Theatre, London – until 27 July 2024

https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/my-fathers-fable/

Not content with being one of acting’s rising stars, Faith Omole proves with this astonishingly assured debut that she’s also a tremendous playwright. In fact Omole already won the Alfred Fagon award for an earlier piece but My Father’s Fable is the first time she has had anything professionally produced. I doubt it’ll be the last.

Rebekah Murrell’s engrossing staging continues the Bush’s house policy of world class drama premieres with a multiethnic flavour: this is an absolute belter. The command of character, dialogue, plot development, humour and suspense is outstanding. On the night I saw it, a diverse (both in terms of race and age) crowd were alternately on the edge of their seats or roaring with laughter, and culminated in one of the most spontaneous standing ovations I’ve seen even at this venue, where the audience tends to be vociferous.

Omole gives us a family tragicomedy with London-based British Nigerian teacher Peace (delightfully natural Tiwa Lade) preparing for the arrival from Nigeria of Bolu, the long lost brother (from another mother) she’s only recently discovered she has, while also still mourning the loss of her father. Theo Ogundipe makes Bolu a charismatic, slightly unknowable figure, his motivations and intentions not immediately clear. Roy, Peace’s supportive boyfriend (Gabriel Akuwudike, note-perfect and deeply lovable), initially thinks Bolu is on the make, but quickly falls under his spell.

Then there’s Peace’s mother Favour (Rakie Ayola), deeply suspicious of Bolu and nearly as sceptical about Roy, and a real piece of work. Omole has created here a theatrical maternal monster to rank alongside such unforgettable figures as Lady Bracknell, Bernarda Alba and Cocteau’s Yvonne from Les Parents Terribles, and Ayola matches the writing with an exquisite, detailed study of poised venom and manipulation, the kind of person who becomes mysteriously unwell every time she doesn’t get her own way. “I don’t enjoy always being right” she purrs at her exasperated (almost) son-in-law, while brandishing a fan like a weapon, her eyes constantly widening in disdain or mock horror. Ayola is too fine an actress, and Omole too skilled a writer, to just give us a simple domestic villain though, so Favour is a vibrant, multi-layered creation, with intriguing otherworldly connections and above all else a real love for her child. It’s pretty impossible to take your eyes off, despite the brilliance of the other three cast members. The acting throughout is flawless.

The play is top heavy, with act one nearly twice as long as act two, but there turns out to be a valid reason for that. My Father’s Fable pulls the rug out from underneath the audience in the second half in one of the most effective dramatic volte faces I can remember. Bolu’s character is explained, as is Peace’s almost disconcerting childlike essence, her fear of flying and the dark… on the night I saw it, the audience’s vocal reaction to the revelation was thrillingly immediate and unguarded.

There’s more to the play than just the family story though. Omole astutely tackles the uncomfortable tension, snobbery almost, between Africans who left the continent to live elsewhere and those who remain, and touches sensitively on how the diasporan experience can result in a dilution of culture and language. “Shall I tell you what I see when I look at your life?” Bolu says to Peace, “you are rootless”. He has a point, but the play is wonderfully even-handed in its examination of how differently from each other people can live, and is ultimately rather moving.

The relationship between Peace and Roy is beautifully articulated, even when under severe strain, and brought to delicate but vivid life by Lade and Akuwudike, and the showdown between Favour and Bolu which closes the first act is electrifyingly played by Ayola and Ogundipe. Interestingly, director Murrell is, like Omole, a fine actor in her own right, and the detail, pace and specificity in this sublime production demonstrates the work of a multi-disciplinary artist. TK Hay’s modern house set, with a symbolic crack bisecting the ceiling, Simisola Majekodunmi’s playful, mood-shifting lighting and the mysterious sound and music contributions of XANA and Ayanna Witter-Johnson complement the overall vision seamlessly.

So far in 2024, the Bush has already given us one of the contenders for best play of the year with Shifters (soon heading into the West End, and on no account to be missed). Four months later, here’s another one: My Father’s Fable is a terrific piece of work, infused with that rare tang of pleasure that happens when everyone involved is at the top of their game. Cracking theatre.