JADAR

★★★★☆

Jess Gough makes her full length directorial debut with Caryl Churchill’s A Number, and what a great debut it was; engaging, well-paced and captivating.

Red Brick Theatre’s A Number jumps into gear, in true Caryl Churchill fashion, throwing us into a heated exchange between Salter (Joe Simpson) and Bernard 2 (Tom Ryder); a son has discovered that his father has cloned him, the conversation boiling down to a questioning of the ethics of cloning human beings.

The drama unfolds as we meet both Bernards, the first two clones that Salter created, where Churchill’s superb writing drip feeds us the key information within her world, where cloning is both legal and a possibility. Director Jess Gough superbly tackles themes of identity and nature vs nurture, achieving a fresh perspective on Churchill’s writing.

Set in the traverse at 53two in Manchester, A Number feels incredibly intimate. From a technical standpoint, the transitions from each scene felt transformative accompanied by immersive electronic ambient music and dark blue toned flashing light across the stage floor.

Watching Tom Ryder almost seem to morph into his next character in the darkness was incredibly engaging, and was testament to his intricate performance. Ryder takes on the demanding task of multi-rolling as Bernard 1, Bernard 2, and Michael Black, to which he achieves convincingly well. Particularly as Bernard 1, a troubled, unstable man, victim to Britain’s failing foster care system– Ryder is intoxicating and incredibly detailed in his performance as this character. Particularly the pace in which Ryder holds onto was noteworthy, Bernard 1’s moods constantly flickering under and over the line of stability. Ryder’s maniacal laugh stuck with me as reminiscent of Tommy Lee Royce from Happy Valley. Ironically enough it is Joe Simpson who in fact has appeared in an episode of the BBC drama.

Within the opening, Joe Simpson’s response to Caryl Churchill’s quick and snappy interruption-filled dialogue felt rather recited; however, Simpson’s portrayal within the final scenes grew more poignant, defining Salter’s sanity crumbling, allowing Joe Simpson’s performance to be able to correspondingly shine. Salter’s is truly felt in the final minutes of the production, where Simpson portrays his character’s deterioration with profound exacerbation in sharp contrast to Tom Ryder’s final character, the sugary sweet American clone, Michael Black.

A Number runs at 53two until May 24.

Photo: Liam Steers