Ben Ockrent’s new play about a dark family secret entertains a solid premise, but fails to find the balance between comedy and drama
Before Ben Ockrent’s play begins, the stage is obscured by a curtain that reads 'FRAGILE', indicating that the following two hours will not only be about packing, but also that the story behind it may be delicate, with potentially disastrous consequences if mishandled. That spirit of playful danger shines through at points, but is ultimately undermined in a piece that can’t fully commit to its comedy or drama, weakening the impact of both.
Relics finds four siblings convening in the home of their recently deceased mother to divvy up her belongings. Eldest Liv (Sally Phillips, poised until she isn’t), youngest Michelle (Charly Clive as a witty, weary primary school teacher) and diametrically opposed middle siblings Jonny (JJ Field swaggering in a very Canary Wharf polo and vest) and Rob (an endearing Sam Swainsbury) stake their claim on things in the house. Liv insists they justify each item while holding a stone indicating their turn to speak, immediately establishing her role as order-maker. Director Michael Longhurst regularly rearranges the actors, but Phillips remains the axis on which the play turns.
After a few run-of-the-mill heirlooms are earmarked, Jonny turns his attention to a painting of a church. The others are surprised he'd want this artwork that apparently creeped him out as a child. After some coaxing, he admits that an appraiser friend has identified it as a valuable long-lost piece by a French impressionist. Liv’s inquiry into how it ended up in their attic leads to the discovery of a note that holds the answer. Their grandfather, a decorated veteran, acquired it as a gift for his wife while serving in Berlin. In 1945. The painting was stolen from a Jewish family before they were sent to their deaths in a concentration camp. The siblings are horrified and their relationships are put to the test as they debate whether to keep or sell this relic that shouldn’t even be theirs.
The twist is juicy, but takes far too long to arrive, bringing the curtain down on a first act that consists largely of exposition. There are also too many references to offstage characters and motifs, lessening our already tenuous understanding of these people beyond the most textbook sibling dynamics. And most egregiously, the political edge is hardly even hinted at, thus arriving more as a plot device than a core question of the piece.
It’s nearly impossible to watch Relics without thinking about Appropriate by American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. His Tony-winning play follows a set of siblings sifting through their late father’s estate, only to discover photographs that betray a racially charged depravity. But where Appropriate provides an indicting look into issues of inheritance and violence within a well-to-do white family, Relics retreats into familiar familial melodrama instead of attacking its political content with vigour.
As with the opening tableau, there are some exciting parts in Relics, particularly two sequences in the second act that combine music (vividly rendered by sound designer Dan Balfour), lighting (Simisola Majekodunmi) and choreography (Chi-San Howard and Bret Yount) in an unexpected release. These creative bursts, along with some slower moments that allow the audience to absorb a genuine laugh or poignant beat, give a glimpse into what the show could have achieved. There's no denying the gravity of the shock reaveal of Nazi theft, but ultimately Ockrent cares too much about his characters’ realism, relatability and rigidity to put them in any physical or moral danger that matches the ambition of his twist. As a result, the ambient suffering of the Jews merely becomes furniture.
By Maia Kahn
Photos by Marc Brenner
Relics runs until Saturday 18 July. 7.30pm, 2.30pm (Wed & Sat only). £15-£55. Lyric Hammersmith, London, W6 0QL. lyric.co.uk