It’s a (Nigerian-British) family affair
Photo by Manuel Harlan: Rakie Ayola (Favour), Theo Ogundipe (Bolu), Tiwa Lade (Peace) and Gabriel Akuwudike (Roy) in ‘My Father’s Fable’ at the Bush Theatre.
Daniel Nelson
Strong story, superb writing, powerful acting — what more do you want from theatre? Go and see My Father’s Fable.
To further spice up the enjoyment, the multiracial audiences attracted by writer Faith Omole’s debut production often results in livelier-than-usual audience responses to character and story twists. (“Theatre … should be a conversation”, Omole said on Radio 4 Woman’s Hour recently. “The audience are another character in this whole show,” commented the interviewer.)
The impact of Omole’s family drama is all the greater for its lack of physical action and its static set — it all takes place in the open plan living space of daughter Peace and her mixed-heritage partner, Roy. Even the essence of the plot, the arrival from Nigeria of Peace’s Nigerian brother, Bolu, is a well-trodden path (see, for example, Gone Too Far).
So everything depends on the words and acting. And they are terrific.
Dilemmas facing migrant families, almost always based on cultural differences between parents and children, are now a staple of British theatre: not of West End shows, but certainly in smaller creative powerhouses like the Bush. Many are created, acted and staged by a talented group of second-generation migrants. “We have all this history of where we came from,” Omole has said, “and we have this relationship of where we are now.” I must have seen 15 such plays in recent years, and the different ethnicities of the writers bring fascinating insights into the various communities.
The unravelling of the motive behind Bolu’s visit and his impact on the small host family drive the story, but it’s boosted by some teasing sub-plots, such as Peace’s (off-stage) clash with a Black student at the school where she teaches and her indecision over whether or not to go abroad with Roy. Interestingly, that indecision led to one of the strongest audience reactions in support of Roy and against her failure to Stand By Her Man, though the causes of her reluctance were never shown as including a sense of unfairness that his career was being favoured over hers or that being a partner of a man with a job in a foreign country can be a frustratingly unsatisfying life.
It’s also interesting that the mother, Favour, is portrayed as a ruthless manipulator and Peace as a vacillating victim, while the two men in the play are seen positively: well-intentioned, strong but caring, physically attractive. The unseen third man — the husband/father whose action and deceit links the other characters’ fates — escapes judgement by virtue of being dead.
It’s taken four years to get this play onto the stage and apart from one hackneyed, overplayed joke about prostate and prostrate that should have been cut out at first reading, the care and work that have been put into it are evident.
Superb.
My Father’s Fable is at the Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, W12 8LJ, £15-£35, until 27 July. Info: https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/my-fathers-fable/