Daddy Issues: Of Kith And Kin
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Oliver and Daniel are a bantering urban couple in what looks like a Terry and June sitcom with Habitat furnishings — particularly when Dan's EastEnders bruiser mum turns up to deliver some vitriolic home truths. But Of Kith and Kin covers new ground, by focusing on the tug-of-love between a surrogate mother and two gay dads whose motives for wanting a baby expose severe cracks in their relationship.
Oliver (Joshua Silver) is a petulant queen with Disney fantasies and entitlement issues. Husband Daniel (James Lance) is an older ex-heterosexual lawyer still pursuing the patriarchal role, who remembers when it was less easy to be out and proud. Casting tilts the scales further as Lance is the more subtle and experienced actor, especially when we jump to a courtroom drama in which Daniel and a ballbreaking solicitor — a firecracker performance by Joanna Bacon (who also plays the cockney mum) — go head to head in front of an inappropriate magistrate. The emotional core of Chris Thompson's dark comedy is unveiled only in the final act, when a cleverly-drafted ending allows you to decide your own vision of the character's outcomes. Highly watchable. Read more.
Of Kith And Kin, Bush Theatre, Uxbridge Road, W12. Until 25 November. Tickets £10-20 [Monday-Saturday]
Last Updated 25 October 2017
