From left: Johnna James, Rachel Agee, Clay Steakley, Luke Hatmaker, Erin Grace Bailey, Miles Gatrell
Families can be complicated, even in the best of times. The petty little differences, the big disappointments. The perceived slights, the very real sacrifices, and the all-too-fleeting moments of joy. Australian playwright Andrew Bovell digs into all of it with his 2016 drama Things I Know to Be True — onstage at Actors Bridge Ensemble through Aug. 6.
Billed as a “complex and intense portrait of the mechanics of a family (and a marriage) through the eyes of four siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents’ love and expectations,” Things takes on universal themes of love, loss and loyalty. It’s certainly well-worn territory, but Bovell is a strong writer, managing to open the door to a deeper conversation on how our individual choices impact others, and what — if anything — we owe our families.
It’s interesting to note that Things was originally set in Bovell’s native Australia, incorporating highly theatrical bits of movement to emphasize high-flying emotions and feelings of disconnect. ABE’s production has reset the tale to the American Midwest, and has taken a more realistic approach to the storytelling, although director-designer Paul Gatrell’s sunny, childlike scenery offers a nice contrast to the heavy narrative.
As the play opens, we meet Rosie — the youngest of the Price family, who has been touring around Europe, wondering when her life will really begin. She returns unexpectedly, looking to mend a broken heart and seeking the familiar comforts of home. But comfort doesn’t come easily in this suburban household. And over the course of the next year, the Prices will be forced to face some new crisis or trauma with each passing season.
Such an intense story requires powerful performances, and Gatrell (impressive in his ABE directorial debut) has assembled an excellent cast. ABE favorites Rachel Agee and Clay Steakley are particularly good as parents Fran and Bob, providing the perfect dysfunctional planet for their grown children to orbit.
Agee turns in a positively searing performance as the no-nonsense Fran, delivering her lines with an often cutting sense of practicality. In the hands of a lesser actor, Fran could easily be played as a Mommie Dearest-style villain. But Agee gives us a far more intriguing blend of worry, frustration and regret.
As Bob, Steakley is the quintessential befuddled dad — whether he’s searching for his garden shears or trying to figure out how to work the fancy new coffeemaker. Steakley is terrific in these bits of levity. But as he confides in Fran about all the hopes and dreams he’d imagined for his kids (“I thought they’d be like us — but better than us.”), you’ll feel it in your gut.
Erin Grace Bailey, Miles Gatrell, Luke Hatmaker and Johnna James are all outstanding as the Price siblings, with each actor finding their moment to shine. James is especially polished as Pip, and together with Agee, shares a potent meditation on mothers, daughters and the impossible, soul-crushing standards they set for one another.
There’s a great deal of truth in such moments. I just wish Bovell could have offered a bit more emotional balance along the way — the small victories, the inside jokes, the ball-busting humor that only families understand. And while Bovell’s script doesn’t exactly break new ground, it may leave you reflecting on a few painful truths of your own. Stark, honest and oh-so-human, Things I Know to Be True reminds us that it’s often the people and places we try hardest to escape that sustain us the most.
