REVIEW: THE HOUSE WE INHERIT at Bridge House Theatre 21 May – 1 June

‘An engrossing sibling drama’ ★★★★

Set in a family home in small-town New England, The House We Inherit explores the dynamics between three siblings: Helena, played by the writer Sarah Majland, Timmy (Boyan Petrov) and their adopted brother Kevin (Oncel Camci). All roughly in their twenties, the more traditional Timmy still lives in the family home: he has a heart defect (and a broken leg) and doesn’t have long left to live. He wants to live out his few remaining days watching football and drinking beer. Kevin looks after him, whilst Helena returns from New York to help, having left to try to establish an art gallery, making a new life for herself. But it’s clear that Kevin and Helena know of a secret that will up-end Timmy’s perception of their apparently ideal parents and upbringing.

I found this play to be an engrossing slow burner. The central conflict isn’t immediately clear to us, and although there was a short time where I wondered where we were heading, I allowed myself to sink into elements of the play that I found reassuringly familiar. The props and set immediately tell you we’re in the States: the sofa and coffee table strewn with a pizza box and bottles of Budweiser, the family photos on the wall above, reinforced by some excellent New England accents from the cast (especially Petrov’s). A secret undermining the preconceptions of an American family is not a new notion, but the focus on just the children, their relationship as siblings, felt fresh, as we see them come to terms with the legacy of their parents.

The American tropes were reinforced with the sound design: we frequently hear the football games that Timmy is watching on TV, and it was great to have some scenes where the cast are speaking over the top of it, which felt brave. This could easily have been distracting, or meant that we couldn’t hear the dialogue, but it worked to show the distractions of a culture which prioritises short term consumption and indulgence, rather than the heartfelt connections that the characters are seeking. It was an effective tool to emphasise the distance, both geographical and emotional, between Helena and her younger brother.

Similarly, the dialogue and the cast’s delivery felt incredibly natural and believable. This is not a poetic or flowery script, but each character had a distinctive voice, and its directness grounded us in the everyday. Emotional drama was added through lighting, especially in scenes where we see Helena, alone, leaving yet another voicemail for her partner: the purple and yellows enveloping her momentarily, and effectively, took us out of the naturalism of the rest of the play.

The climax of the play rests on a revelation told by Kevin to Timmy, which irreversibly alters Timmy’s values and beliefs about their family. This moment, puncturing the traditional values upheld by Timmy of keeping home, having a wife and kids, watching the game and so on, felt suitably Arthur Miller-esque. I thought though, that Timmy’s relationship with his father could have been pushed a little more so that the impact of the revelation on Timmy could have been more hard-hitting: it is undeniably a powerful and forceful scene, but I was left thinking more about its impact on Helena and Kevin than on Timmy, yet when we learn about it, we are in his shoes. This essential moment did, however, include some of the best and most visceral performances of the show.

Majland closes the play poignantly, with some hard-hitting stuff, heightened by the sibling relationships we have seen alter and change. I did feel there was one too many endings though, and it felt like there was a need to tie off all the loose endings neatly: it could be more effective to suggest these in earlier scenes, rather than make them more explicit. It became a play of absolute certainties, even though an important theme had been about lies and cover ups.

Overall, The House We Inherit is a moving play, well written and acted, and thoroughly engrossing.

Read LPT interview with the writer and cast here

The House We Inherit
Written by Sarah Majland
Bridge House Theatre
21^st May – 1^st June

Box Office https://thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk/shows/the-house-we-inherit/
 

Reviewed by Jonny Kemp