Alice Birch’s Romans: A Novel, opens at the Almeida as a thoughtful reflection on toxic masculinity, brotherhood and the patriarchy. From over a hundred years ago all the way to the present day it follows the three Roman brothers, Jack, Marlow, and Edmund, as between them they grapple with violence, trauma and the long term damage that comes with patriarchal expectation. Across time, their stories intertwine into a deep analysis of how boys and men – and the women in their lives – are beholden to the cycles of violence and destruction that befall them.
Director Sam Pritchard explores the early damage done to all three boys due to the Roman patriarch’s desperation for sons, the institutional brutality of boarding school, and the long shadows of both absent and imposed motherhood. The brothers grapple with different weaknesses and obsessions as result: Jack’s restless searching for adventure and meaning, Marlow’s cruelty and exploitation of the world around him, Edmund’s fragility and lack of identity. All three raise uneasy questions; what is the cost of this constant need to strive for a limited set of expectations regarding manhood? How much is chosen by oneself, and how much is imposed? How much, as the saying goes, will hurt people truly hurt people?
Romans further critiques the silencing and control this imposes upon women. When wives, interviewers, children and observers begin to interrupt and question the motives of these brothers, they destabilise – and yet never manage to break free of – the undeniably male-centric story, reminding us that patriarchal structures depend not only on male suffering but also on female erasure, as well as the long way we still have to go in order to deconstruct these systems. A variety of institutions – schools, colonialism, armies, cults, the class system, and popular culture – loom large over all the narratives, suggesting the cyclical nature of oppression and the eternal emergence of actors that will always empower the dominant at the expense of those below. In that sense, the struggles around male loneliness, entitlement, and aggression are constants if we as a whole continue to allow them to be, never checking them sufficiently.
Sam Pritchard’s staging builds throughout the play, starting off almost completely sparse, before a revolving platform kicks into gear, until, in the second act, we are confronted with a busy, almost cluttered stage by the very end. Our world might become more hectic, more full of things, and yet the long shadows of all three brothers’ and the patriarchy they represent continues to linger: always present, never fading. The lighting by Lee Curran is truly fantastic throughout, building tension and anxiety to come good at the very end with a triumphant conclusion which must be experienced in person to be fully appreciated.
Stellar acting performances keep the play compelling: Kyle Soller as Jack remains on stage for almost the entire production, pulling off another towering performance as to be expected from the the Olivier Award winner, whilst Oliver Johnstone as Marlow, and Stuart Thompson as Edmund create compelling characters that almost feel under-utilised given the layers of depth both provide to the two younger brothers. The supporting cast truly shine, with the small glimpses into the lives of the women (Adelle Leonce, Agnes O’Casey and Yanexi Enriquez, all playing multiple roles) in the play both highlighting the way such women are sidelined and suffer for it, as well as giving the audience space to lament how we do not have the space and time to get to know these characters further. A true reflection of the lives of so many women who only exist in flashes throughout history via the men they are linked to.
Romans: A Novel is a long and expansive piece given the ambition of its message and its long run time of two hours fifty minutes. Yet it more than bravely endeavours to cast a earnest reflection upon the true warts and scars that masculinity and patriarchy inflict to all that are subject to its dark scythe. Given the times we live in, such a stark, unforgiving piece of work is more than necessary.
Romans: A Novel runs at the Almeida, London, until the 11th of October. Find tickets here, and check out or interview with the play’s Assistant Director Neetu Singh, here.
