My Father’s Fable - Bush Theatre

[Dave B]

BIG recommend on this. Really strong family drama, funny and smart. Went down a treat with a pretty full Bush Theatre this evening. Not perfect, veers slightly too much into melodrama but a wonderful cast. It feels a bit like Till the Stars Come Down did. Well written family specifics but actually quite universal. Went to buy the playtext at the interval…

This four star Guardian review sums it up really nicely I think. www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jun/23/my-fathers-fable-review-bush-theatre-london

4.5 stars from me.

[QueerTheatre]

I saw this tonight and really enjoyed it but have to say i found the actual play/production quite weak. The scenes are all far too short and all end just as they're getting interesting - felt like it was written more for screen than stage. The production (which credits an 'original director' 'resident director' and something like an 'associate assistant director' too) also felt kind of misguided in the awkward scene changes & lighting choice - i felt they were never quite sure whether to lean into the spiritual/supernatural themes or not... However the actual story is really compelling, the acting is top notch & its a fun evening at the theatre. I just felt like it could have been a strong 4* show with some better dramaturgy & direction, but instead it was a fairly average if enjoyable 3* night for me.

[parsley1]

It was hard to know

Which was more dreadful

The atrocious script

Or the affected odd over-acting

This would have been better left on the shelf

Mirrored by an auditorium which was less than 30% full

Lucky escape at the interval for me
As for the comparison to Til The Stars Come Down
Yes they are both plays with actors on a stage
Other then that I fail to see any similarities or valid comparisons
Would struggle to give this 1 star and more like a fringe first draft

[Deleted]

Really enjoyed this. My second visit to the theatre after the excellent Shifters. Super impressed by their output. This show was charming, funny and tender. Lovely, grounded acting with excellent chemistry. The mother was my favorite. It went a little OTT in the second act but everything else more than makes up for it. Great audience response as well. Plus I loved the preshow/interval music.

[lt]

Saw this last night and while I enjoyed it, I felt there were a number of tweaks or additional drafts that would improve the play, because I think overall the premise and storyline of the play - without giving away any spoilers  - is interesting.

However, there were parts of the first act which felt unnecessarily slow and the end of scene changes between the reality of the story we were seeing and the dead father's voice didn't quite work for me. But there were some strong lines and definitely moments when I laughed out loud. And the script does give a thoughtful perspective on some of the differences that can arise between a Nigerian family living in the UK and one based in Nigeria.

I actually felt that second half was stronger than the first. All the scenes in that act felt as if  they were driving the story along and it didn't feel as if there was surplus material.

For me the best thing in the show is Raki Ayola who plays the manipulative mother, she acts the rest of the cast off the stage.

[Steve]

Saw this tonight and really enjoyed it.

The play persistently teases a big revelation, soap opera style, but never gets annoying as the characters and their dynamics keep getting more interesting as the play progresses.

Some spoilers follow. . .

This is one of those plays where a new arrival threatens the status quo of a family: Theo Ogundipe plays Bolu, the long lost Nigerian half brother ("your father's bastard son" as the manipulative matriarch calls him) of the main character, Peace ("a terrible name" says Bolu lol), played by Tiwa Lade.

Peace doesn't know a thing about her Yoruba heritage, can't speak the language, can't cook the food, can't understand why Bolu is so furious with their father. Whatever the reason, Peace's Mum (Rakie Ayola comedically playing a Tracy Letts level garrulous controlling monster, Favour) wants it squelched so bad that she invites herself to stay at Peace's house indefinitely (she gets "migraines") to interfere with the reunion. . .

There are a lot of laughs in the extremity of the mother's manipulations, in the extreme gulf between the half-siblings, and also in the ever-increasing pressure on Peace's reasonable boyfriend, Roy (Gabriel Akuwudike), caught in the middle.

The drama is about why Theo Ogundipe's Bolu is sneaking around behind everybody's backs - is he the "Nigerian Prince" level scam artist he is accused of being?

The key reason I really liked this play lies in Theo Ogundipe's ever-ambiguous work as the family interloper: he is charismatically likeable yet always up to something; he seems to know everything yet develops a terrible stutter when he tries to say it. It's great work by Ogundipe and carried the play for me.

Eventually the long-teased revelations (I guessed wrong lol) arrive, but so late that the implications can't be fully interrogated. Nonetheless, there wasn't a boring moment along the way, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. 4 stars from me.