Review: Fatherland, Hampstead Theatre

What would you do if one of your parents turned up at your front door in an old school bus they have converted themselves (poo pipe for the toilet and all), insisting that you drop everything to take a road trip across the Irish Sea in search of long lost relatives in County Mayo – off the back of a few Facebook messages? 

I’m not convinced you’d go but here, Joy (Nancy Farino, who also wrote the script) joins her dad Winston (Jason Thorpe) and they set off on the road trip with just some old CDs of Shania Twain and The Weather Girls for company.  As they look to reconnect with their roots, this awkward family getaway becomes something more reflective about how we carry our hurts and our expectations.  

There is good chemistry between Farino and Thorpe, the latter of whom really captures the wild contradiction within Winston; he moves from one fleeting obsession to the next, as his love life makes clear, but he’s feeling a disconnect, a loss underneath.  As the two bicker and quarrel and constantly cross wires, this is intercut with flashbacks of Winston meeting his solicitor, Claire (Shona Babayemi).  Winston is an unqualified, unregulated life coach and he’s being sued for negligence in a pretty serious case.  

Parts of this set up really works. This background gives a strong sense that the case is weighing on Winston, that he is feeling a sense of loss, and while spiralling is looking for a connection with Joy and his lost family. It’s quite broad though, and comes through more in Thorpe’s performance than in the script. Despite the flashbacks, which he never actually tells Joy about while they talk, another secret is kept. Which is a shame, as the scenes with Claire really start to become more effective as the evening goes on and Winston is forced into a degree of honesty and realisation that he cannot bring himself to reach with his daughter Joy.

Farino’s portrayal of Joy is sincere but feels underpowered. There isn’t any of the spark that Thorpe brings to Winston. Farino has the more restrained role and it does sometimes make the quieter emotional moments feel a little less immediate. As Claire, Babayemi nicely captures how the solicitor is unexpectedly charmed by Winston, agreeing to take his case despite her initial concerns and even a hint of disdain. She complement Thorpe really well, as his performance in these scenes really gives Winston credibility as a life coach

While the script is funny and the dialogue feels real, the relationship between the characters doesn’t quite fit. Individually, many of the threads are promising but they rarely weave together to satisfaction, and the bigger emotional moments feel forced, with points circled back to. Still, even in its more awkward moments, there is a warmth between father and daughter which helps make the journey endearing. 

Director Tessa Walker keeps the bus moving well through traffic with particularly well‑timed flashbacks that slightly overlap the road trip, building pace and letting the humour and performances shine through. Debbie Duru’s design is simple but inventive, using the length of Downstairs at Hampstead. The bus is created through minimal props, with two chairs on wheels to suggest the driving and the rest breaks and moments of confrontation. The rolling chairs do nicely invoke the rhythm of the road. 

Despite the slight absurdity of a roadtrip on a renovated school bus, Fatherland’s emotional honesty and humour do make it relatable, It’s a trip that occasionally bumps or slightly runs off the road, but still takes you somewhere worth going.

Written by Nancy Farino
Directed by Tessa Walker
Design by Debbie Duru
Lighting design by: Christopher Nairne
Sound design by: Khalil Madovi 

Fatherland plays at Hampstead Theatre until Saturday 29 November.