All My Sons – REVIEW
Image: ALL MY SONS at New Theatre. Image: supplied
In “All My Sons”, Arthur Miller refused to write a story glorifying war and its heroes.
He took his inspiration from newspaper articles in 1941–43 which revealed how army inspection officers had conspired with the Wright Aeronautical Corporation to approve faulty military aircraft engines.
He focuses on a middle American family whose father and husband, Joe Keller (played by Greg Poppleton) allowed his business partner to take the rap for sending out defective parts from their plant for fighter planes, leading to the deaths of American pilots.
His wife Kate Keller (Kath Gordon) is fixated on the belief that her younger son Larry, the darling of the family who was declared missing in action, must still be alive three years after the war has ended.
And older son Chris (Kyle Barrett), resenting his role in the family, hopes that by marrying Larry’s former girlfriend Ann (Bridget Haberecht) he will win back his parents’ approval.
The situation begins to unravel when Ann’s brother George (James Hartley) returns from his seeing his father, Joe’s former business partner, in jail, and hears the true story of Joe’s culpable role in the defective parts.
Joe defends himself by claiming he was thinking only of supporting his family.
As the revelations and recriminations begin to emerge, the ideal family seems to fall apart, leaving only a bitter taste by the end of the play.
The New Theatre does wonderful justice to this dramatic piece, and Kath Gordon as Kate Keller is particularly heart-rending as she gives expression to her pain.
Director Saro Lusty-Cavallari achieves maximum effect as she moves Miller’s characters around on a clever 1940s set devised by Kate Beere.
Be prepared for a trenchant examination of guilt, self-deception, anger and betrayal that is as relevant today as it was when Miller penned it.
Until May 27
New Theatre, 542 King St, Newtown
newtheatre.org.au
