Review: Fences

“I planted myself inside you and waited to bloom. And it didn’t take me no eighteen years to find out the soil was hard and rocky, and it wasn’t never gonna bloom.”

Fences is an impressive piece of playwriting by August Wilson, which has certainly been done justice by the cast and crew of this ADC production of the play. Telling the tale of a black family in 1950s Pittsburgh, the story follows Troy Maxson (Aker Okoye), a sanitation worker whose longing for his past glory and disregard for the happiness of his wife Rose (Kayden Best) and son Cory (Matthew Weatherhead) ultimately leads to tragedy. The eponymous fence is a project Troy builds over many years, symbolising the barriers he has put up between himself and his sons. Cory is terrified he’ll end up just like his father, which is where a lot of the tension lies.

Every actor in the show provided a compelling performance, and all maintained believable American accents – a real achievement for a show that is extremely dialogue-heavy. Despite the scenes being generally longer than most shows, the actors maintained the audience’s attention throughout. There are certain standout performances that come to mind as particularly impressive: Troy and Rose’s confrontation in the bedroom, and Rose’s reluctant acceptance to adopt Troy’s baby (an audible groan was heard from the audience), and the bittersweet reunion of characters at the funeral.

Image credits: Chris Lorde

Bringing lightness to the darker moments (and this show does explore some rather heavy themes), Gabriel (Samira Tahlil) and Lyons (Talia Hardie) give great humorous performances, though never so much as to break the believability of the scene, and their eccentric personalities are a joy to watch. And for arguably the most troubling scene in the show, the moment Troy reveals his infidelity to Rose and the argument that ensues, Kayden Best puts on a truly heart-wrenching performance. The whole audience could feel her agony.

The movement of the characters both within and between scenes has a very natural and realistic quality to it thanks to the work of director Ivan Ampiah and assistant director Angel Ezeadum. The set, designed by technical director Joy Chen, also certainly helps achieve this effect. It is fairly basic but functional in design, consisting of a red brick wall and a cut-out tree to signify the outside, and a grey wall with minimalistic furniture to signify the inside of the house. A doorframe demarcates the boundaries between inside and outside, allowing for a natural flow as characters move between spaces in the set.

Image credits: Chris Lorde

Limited sound design is not necessarily to the detriment of the show, but rather allows for more attention on the tactile sounds produced by the actors: the swing of a bat, laundry being folded, money passing between hands. These, combined with beautiful little moments of singing, particularly Raynell (Chantell Asante) and Cory’s duet of “Old Blue”, enhance the audience’s immersion in the characters’ intense and claustrophobic world.

Like the set and sound design, costume design wasn’t complex or too detailed, but I expect this is the point as all attention is directed towards what the characters are saying, and our captivation with their lives comes through dialogue, rather than anything else. So while it is tempting to suggest more sound effects or variation in the costumes, the show wouldn’t greatly benefit from them; it is the characters that matter, and the actors in this production play them well.

Fences is student theatre of the highest order. It has a talented cast and clearly a very dedicated crew; there was no doubt a lot of work, time and genuine passion for the original material put into this production.

4.5/5

Image credits: Chris Lorde 

Fences was showing Tuesday 22nd October – Saturday 26th October at the ADC Theatre.

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