Time has exposed the bricks and mortar of Arnold Wesker's 1958 play Chicken Soup With Barley but it's still a solid period edifice and a landmark of British drama.
The first in an autobiographical trilogy, Chicken Soup With Barley charts two decades in the life of an East End Jewish family, from the Cable Street riot of 1936 to the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.
When we first meet the Kahns, they're full of hope and excitement: change seems on the horizon. But the family's subsequent disappointments are bound up with the collapse of socialism.
Only Sarah, the voluble, nagging matriarch, clings to the socialist dream, while her husband Harry gives up on life and politics and her children feel betrayed by both.
Subtlety is thin on the ground in Giles Croft's staging and few of the characterisations feel truly lived-in. Simon Schatzberger's Harry is a particular let-down: playing a man moth-eaten by indifference is no excuse for a dozy performance.
Doubling up on roles, Rachel Edwards acts everyone else off stage as the politically disillusioned daughter, Ada. She's also marvellous to watch as grocer's wife
Ava, a study in subtle disgust. If this revival doesn't quite do Wesker justice, it is good to see a play that feels like a substantial meal - even if at times its message is force-fed.
Until Nov 19, Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road NW6, Mon to Sat 8pm, Sat mats 4pm, Nov 9 and 16 mats 2pm. £8.50 to £18.50, £7 to £16 concs. Tel: 020 7328 1000. www.tricycle.co.uk Tube: Kilburn
Chicken Soup With Barley
