Theatre
Review
Review: The Brightening Air
Conor McPherson’s family tragicomedy at the Old Vic feels like a future classic
There’s something truly magic in the fabric of Conor McPherson’s latest piece at the Old Vic. The Brightening Air is a family drama spun through with folklore and waving back at Russian drawing room theatre (Chekov, to be specific). Domestic miracles occur, although none too happy. Spells are cast and cannot be unwoven. Siblings Stephen and Billie welcome their wayward elder brother Dermot to the family home, along with his estranged and harried wife, an ex-clergyman who has redirected the bulk of his faith towards himself, a young girl pretending at sexual power, and a housekeeper past feeling there’s any power in it at all. Dissatisfaction prevails and no one can quite agree what should be done about the house – or where they’d like to go from here.
Fundamentally sad it may be, but depressing it is not – McPherson has a genius for imbuing these everyday tragedies with humour. Chris O’Dowd as Dermot, both hateful and pitiable, provides plenty of comedy in his efforts to save face and portray himself as the successful sibling. Rosie Sheeny as blunt, train-obsessed Billie gets the bulk of the laughs, always on hand to give voice to what the audience is thinking. The tone feels true to any dysfunctional family gathering – the levity is balanced with the characters’ sad failure to understand one another, and the feeling of regression that permeates.
McPherson is an enormous talent and an incredibly strong ensemble performance allows The Brightening Air to ring true, piercing and genuine. Robustly entertaining, it challenges too. How much sense is there in relying on some greater force? Are we the makers of our own mythology – or are there fates in store for us we can’t outrun? Never preaching but gently prodding, and allowing for plenty of laughs along the way, this is a theatrical experience well worth making time for.
The Brightening Air is playing at The Old Vic until 14 June – find tickets here
