York Theatre Royal – until Saturday 19th May 2018.
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4****
York Theatre Royal presents the premier of Jonathan Lewis’s new play, The Be All and End All, a story about the education system and how far a parent will push the boundaries to help get their child get that A*.
Right from the offset this play resonated quite strongly with me, and by the sound of it, for quite a few of the audience too. The relationship between the son, Tom (Matt Whitchurch) and his parents, politician Mark (Jonathan Guy Lewis) and publishing executive Charlotte (Imogen Stubbs), reminded me so much of my own family dynamics, but with a lot less money, privilege, entitlement and I suppose expectations, especially in the first act, that I couldn’t help looking at my son, who had accompanied me, thinking this was so us, see we are not the only ones.
Tom has the perfect, privileged life, privately educated, to the cost of £650,000, so his father has calculated, and is about to sit his A levels. The expectations of both his parents is immense, needing those A*’s in order to get into Cambridge, to study Politics and History, not having any interest in what Tom really wants to do, after all they know best. His girlfriend Frida (Robyn Cara) is from a far less privileged background and is more intellectually gifted that Mark and Charlotte can’t help comparing Tom, and unfortunately find him lacking. Tom has issues with anxiety and coping with stress, which has been brushed under the carpet, forgotten about. What unfolds is how far everyone will go in order to achieve what they think is best for their family, no matter if it is right or wrong, or even what that member really wants.
Set in a kitchen and lounge, with a staircase, the staging and scenery was very naturalistic, there was even a functioning sink with running water, I loved the kitchen with the island and trendy stools. The use of the stage added to the real raw aspect of the show, making the issues that the family were going through more relatable. The relationship with the actors on the stage added to the life like quality of the show and it felt that, we as an audience, were gazing into the life of a real family.
From the get go it was light hearted and there were laughs aplenty, but as time passed things got more serious, secrets were being kept, before unravelling, and things got darker as the truth immerged, the stage become messier and messier, before the bloody final conclusion.
How far would you go to help your child on the road to success, where would you draw the line? That is a tough question but I would like to think that I personally wouldn’t lie, cheat and sacrifice my morals in order to push my ideals on my children to their own detriment. What would you do?
Catch this whilst you can in York. Then showing in Colchester and Windsor.