The Week on Stage, from The Breach to House of Ife

The highs and lows of the week’s theatre

‘The Breach’ (left) and ‘House of Ife' (Johan Persson/Marc Brenner )

This week’s theatre round-up features Sarah Frankcom’s The Breach and House of Ife at the Bush Theatre.

Come back next week for a fresh cohort of productions, including a musical double bill with new productions of My Fair Lady and Grease, and Anne-Marie Duff’s return to the Almeida for House of Shades.

The Breach – Hampstead Theatre ★★☆☆☆

Watching The Breach, Naomi Wallace’s new play about a group of teens with a secret, I find it hard to figure out what on earth it’s trying to say. The Seventies were a different time? Rape is bad? It’s a mystery.

We meet 17-year-old Jude (Shannon Tarbet) in 1977; she’s willing to do anything to protect her younger brother Acton (Stanley Morgan), and has reluctantly struck up a friendship with his friends Hoke (Alfie Jones) and Frayne (Charlie Beck). The action then jumps to 1991, where the group (played by a new cast) have reunited – although this time Acton’s not there. They allude to a turning point in their friendship but the details are slippery.

Charlie Beck, Alfie Jones and Stanley Morgan in ‘The Breach' (Johan Persson)

As things progress, the timelines coalesce around the verboten event that changed everything. Turns out, it was an act of rape. Up until this point, sexual assault has been joked about, but in that icky, dated-teen-movie kind of way one is often asked to dismiss as a relic of the time. The jokes don’t stop as the plot gets darker; you can feel the audience grit their teeth amid some nervous laughter.

For a show about youth, Sarah Frankcom’s production is surprisingly static. Pair that with the barren concrete backdrop and it’s a pretty dull watch. The only real movement comes when young Jude and Acton imagine their father, who died after falling off a building, in his final moments. Grins plastered on their faces, they roll across the stage in expertly choreographed slow-motion. Weirdly, it’s one of few moments of joy in the play. When I think about why it’s being staged now, though, I draw a blank. Isobel Lewis

House of Ife – Bush Theatre ★★★★★

Family tensions tend to rise to new heights during times of grief. In Beru Tessema’s absorbing drama House of Ife, the audience gets to see up close how brutally these moments can play out, as the secrets of an Ethiopian-British family unfurl after the death of troubled eldest son, Ife, from a drug overdose. His siblings react to the tragedy in different ways. Aida (Karla-Simone Spence), Ife’s younger twin, feels as though he’s haunting her; the guilt of leaving him in his time of need weighs heavy. Middle sister Tsion (Yohanna Ephrem) attempts to make everything better with food, while Yossy (a scene-stealing Michael Workeye) shrugs off his deeper emotions with humour and teen brattiness.

Karla-Simone Spence and Yohanna Ephrem in ‘House of Ife’ (Marc Brenner)

As the matriarch, Sarah Priddy is both a commanding and calming presence on stage. Jude Akuwudike is equally convincing as the prodigal father, who comes back to the family’s north London home armed with souvenirs and airy promises for the sad occasion. Having left them for a new life back in Addis Ababa nearly a decade ago, his return is met with mixed reactions: a potent mix of pride, resentment and hurt. The five-person cast are completely in tune with Tessema’s text – their characters feel rooted and genuinely related.

The single-act piece is masterfully paced, with emotions brewing until an explosive showdown around the breakfast table. Succinct and electric, House of Ife is a thrilling exploration of how politeness and expectations can tear relationships apart. Nicole Vassell