Nathan reaches out to his two brothers Aaron and Karl to help him find their father who has been missing for two days. In an afternoon full of surprises and revelations, the family begin to come to terms with the terrible trauma that their father has visited on all of them. Beyond Nathan and his brothers, Dad’s malign influence has broken the lives of Nathan’s ex wife Leila and their son Daniel.
DAD is about the ripple effects of control and the persistence of past trauma. A shocking resolution suggests there is only one way to truly escape.
Review by Richard Lambert
I really enjoyed DAD and laughed a lot throughout. It’s a short, punchy and thoroughly entertaining evening of theatre, with a cast who clearly enjoy getting stuck into the material. There’s a good range of experience amongst the performers, and they each bring something different to their roles, making the family dynamic engaging and fun to watch.
The script is particularly clever, packed with witty one-liners and sharp observations that regularly caught me off guard and had me chuckling. There’s a lovely rhythm to the dialogue, and the comedy comes from both the writing and the increasingly outrageous situations in which these characters find themselves.
The production itself is relatively simple, with an uncluttered set that allows the actors and the story to take centre stage. The sound effects do the job, although the lighting occasionally feels a little strange — particularly when what I assume was meant to be a sunset seemed to turn the entire stage a rather alarming shade of orange!
The characters and performances are certainly plausible, but the stories themselves occasionally stretch credibility a little too far. At times, the satire feels deliberately exaggerated — a bit like an episode of Hollyoaks: really? Everyone in this family has behaved that badly?! It’s perhaps part of the fun, although it does mean that some of the more dramatic revelations feel less realistic than the otherwise believable characters.
That said, this is a show that knows what it wants to be: short, sharp, funny and entertaining. It doesn’t outstay its welcome, there are plenty of laughs along the way, and it makes for an enjoyable night out.
A fun, fast-moving piece of theatre that I’d happily recommend for an entertaining evening.
Cast
- Ivan Kaye — Aaron
- David Solomon — Nathan
- Nigel Betts — Karl
- Paul Kelvin — Daniel
- Joanne Arber — Leila
- Jerry Ezekiel — Alistair
Creatives
- Writer — David Solomon
- Director — Brittany Rex
- Lighting & Sound Designer — James Denny
- Fight & Intimacy Director — Nora Iso-Kungas
- Producer — Cellar Door Theatre Company
Photo credit: Amy Wicks Young
Tickets: Click here