The Homecoming (Australian Shakespeare Company), at Athenaeum Theatre
Danger, discomfort and tension are the hallmarks of a family gathering in Harold Pinter’s incendiary play The Homecoming.
Set in the mid ‘60s in London, it concerns working class kin with proverbial skeletons in the closet.
Patriarch Max, a former butcher, is nothing, if not somewhat unhinged – combative and confrontational.
A widower with three adult sons, he isn’t always complimentary about his deceased wife, Jessie.
He is forever sparring with his middle son, Lenny, a pimp, who isn’t afraid to give back as good as he gets, and then some.
Max also has some choice words for his brother, Sam, a chauffeur, who he claims makes a soft living.
Max’s younger son Joey, who is in demolition, is training to be a boxer, although his father is doubtful that he has what it takes.
Into this toxic environment walks Max’s eldest son, Teddy, a professor of philosophy who lives in the US with his wife, Ruth, who accompanies him.
Teddy, estranged from his family, hasn’t been home in six years.
Still, he thinks it’s time he introduced Ruth to them.
His father has no idea Teddy is married.
Max is blindsided when he first sees Teddy and Ruth because they arrived in the wee small hours.
As it turns out, Max has some choice words about Ruth, unleashing on her character with a foul-mouthed diatribe, before later recanting.
This is a family in which provocation and derision is a blood sport, but the best (or worst, as the case may be) is yet to come.
All but Sam make a play for Ruth, who is alternately aloof and alluring.
Ruth maintains she was a different woman before she met Teddy, with whom she has three boys, although Teddy is quick to close down that thought.
Ruth, resolute, has her own way of dealing with the situation, as the web of entanglement in this dysfunctional family is set to deepen.
It poses the question, who is really holding the upper hand?
When The Homecoming premiered in London in 1965 and on Broadway two years later, it provoked shock and moral outrage.
With its themes of power, control, dominance, toxic masculinity, violence and misogyny, it went on to claim the Tony Award for Best Play.
Australian Shakespeare Company has assembled a rich array of talent to ensure it retains no shortage of vitriol and bite.
They are uniformly excellent in bringing to the fore the strengths, weaknesses and peccadilloes of their respective characters.
Richard Piper is deeply flawed but larger than life as the cantankerous Max.
Ben Geurens brings sarcasm, edginess, menace and manipulation to Lenny.
David Field plays it quieter as the subjugated Sam.
Eddie Orton has a physical presence along with an air of simplicity as Joey.
Detached intellect is the calling card for Peter Houghton as Teddy.
Kate Kendall fills the role of the mysterious and strategic Ruth with an air of confidence.
I was impressed by the period detail evident in the dark set and costuming, the former the domain of director Greg Carroll.
The latter is the work of Amelia Carroll and Margaret Goy, the highlights of which are the waistcoats and elegant attire worn by Piper and Field.
Aided by strong lighting and sound cues from Peter Amesbury and Paul Norton respectively, The Homecoming remains intriguing and inflammatory.
Director Carroll works hard to ensure the audience is drawn in and held tightly throughout, as the metaphorical (and, on occasion, physical) punches are thrown.
The Homecoming, which hits hard, is on at the Athenaeum until 3rd October, 2026.
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