Cast

The crucial line in Arthur Miller's All My Sons is spoken by young Chris, towards the end of the play, when he turns to his father and says: “You are worse than most men, but I thought you were better”. Leading up to this moment, Miller has slowly and increasingly ruthlessly, removed the kid-gloves from his grip on family bonds and values and games people play on the outskirts of reality. The climax is a cruel crunch that makes the audience jump.

All My Sons questions the way we live out lives, here based on the Keller family in post World War Two mid-America. Joe and Kate Keller (Julian Glover and Diane Fletcher) still await the return of their son, Larry, reported missing in action five years ago. Family loyalty stands in the way of anyone forcing the mother to  face to fact that her son by now is assumed dead. This and other painful conflicts surface and have to be tackled when the couple’s other son Chris (Mark McGann) announces his intention to marry his brother’s fiancée Ann (Robin McCaffery). Ann used to live next door, the daughter of Joe Keller’s neighbour and former business partner, now in jail paying the price for the firm profiteering during the war. Was Joe really the guilty partner? Miller deftly removes the layers of polite behaviour behind the family’s masks as he forces the characters to face the questions family loyalty had kept out of range. Also the way we deceive ourselves. Joe can despise in another man that “he never learned how to take the blame”, but doesn't stop to look in his own mirror.

In the early scenes of this Palace Theatre production, both director Lou Stein and the cast seem almost in awe of the task ahead. Characters are chiselled slowly and words spoken as if in fear that their importance might be lost. There’s too much detached standing and listening.  Robin McCaffery never quite succeeds in moving her character, young Ann, beyond this, with stilted, studied movements that cannot be excused by the character’s discomfort at finding herself back with the family of her former fiancée, planning to marry his brother. The three lead characters, Joe (Julian Glover), Kate (Diane Fletcher) and Chris (Mark McGann) as the father mother and son, however, leave any memory of a stilted start well and truly behind.

Into the second act, Glover’s Joe becomes as strong and troubled a father-figure and citizen as you are likely to encounter, with an admirable final tightrope balance. Diane Fletcher works her part as the troubled mother, but strong woman from inside, in a splendid performance that demands total attention. Mark McGann skilfully reflects the nuances of young Chris, a good son, “a good sucker” who has, until now, only revealed the strong side of his character outside the home. Lisa Hollander as the bright and bubbly girl next door and Sally Watts as the disillusioned ex-nurse and doctor's wife create crisp contrast. By the time the lights fade on the troubled Keller household, you are left with a feeling that Miller has so much to say that you may have missed something and would like to go back for another session of eavesdropping in designer Saul Radomsky’s brilliant American backyard.