'No Villain' Old Red Lion Theatre ****

Rediscovered pieces of dramatic art, either a play or musical is without any shadow of a doubt an exhilarating prospect especially if it’s a world premiere performance of a famous playwright’s first play. The Old Red Lion Theatre’s production of Arthur Miller’s very first play, ‘No Villain’ which was written in his sophomore year at college in 1936 was categorically a miraculous presentation of the illustrious writer’s first play, to boot; the representations were exceedingly heavenly throughout.

‘No Villain’ is set in New York City, 1936 where we’re introduced to the Simon family who’s apartment is really crowded and seem to be living on top of one another and are becoming poor due to the Great Depression. The father, Abe who owns a clothing business is facing a radical decline in trade, as well as, a strike is currently occurring which meant that distribution of his garments is almost impossible. His parenting style appears too magisterial where his son, Ben was forced to leave college and work for his father, paradoxically, Ben’s youngest brother, Arnold “Arnie” (Adam Harley) is at university studying writing who has become an admirer of Communism.  Arnie is about to return to his parent’s home which leads to his mother, Esther and sister, Maxine (Helen Coles) becoming slightly anxious as Abe doesn’t approve of Arnie’s life choices.  We see that Abe is desperate for Arnie to leave university and pursue a career in the family business, on the other hand, Ben is hell-bent determined to stop his father ruining his life just he had done so to his.  When Arnie arrives Esther and Maxine are thrilled to see him, however, as the apartment is overcrowded he has to sleep on the armchair in the living area.  At Abe’s shop, trade is immensely slow and Abe’s employee, Frank (Anton Gross) has to battle his way through the picket line and with racial prejudice’s ever present it’s a challenging time for all concerned. Over the course of the performance, the Simon family face an enormous of tests  as Grandpa Barnett (Kenneth Jay) is having serious health problems and with Abe’s frequent pressures when he declares that Grandpa Barnett has to contribute or he will have to leave causes Grandpa Barnett to suffer a mammoth stroke. In the period of a few visits, the Doc (Steven Omer) has to break the very sad news that Grandpa Barnett has died. The entire Simon family are left devastated. Abe demands to Arnie that he has to work at his shop or there may be severe consequences. At the finale, Ben’s emotions take its toll and he throws all the guests at the wake out of the apartment and informs Abe that he has been an awful father and that he was the cause of Grandpa Barnett’s death.  Miller’s narrative is shipshape as we’re given the impression that Abe’s ideas of what his two sons and daughter should be doing has caused the family a long time of pain and frustration, furthermore, this concept of the arduous father figure can be seen by those in other works i.e. ‘Death of a Salesman’ and ‘A View from The Bridge’. 

One found the performances by the company of, ‘No Villain’ to be spectacularly depicted though outstanding American accents and movements that was tremendously realistic. David Bromley is glowing as father, Abe; centrally when he is always facing trials and tribulations in both his personal and professional life, nonetheless, the his relationship with Ben and Arnie is fraught and this is due to his begrudging personality. Neba Grenshaw is magnifico as Abe’s wife, Esther; in particular where she is so please to have all her children back under one roof but this pleasure soon deteriorates as Abe is making the whole reunion to go beyond the pale and force their sons to pull away from the father and causes upset from her side.  George Turvey is lustrous as the Simon’s eldest son, Ben; fundamentally, how you can see that he doesn’t really like working at his father’s clothing business and this transpires to him to pluck up the courage to tell his father what his actions are doing to Arnie and himself and that he resents him for this. 

Sean Turner’s direction is resplendent here as he has brought to light a play that has finally been given a production that established many of Miller’s techniques that has been continually used in his work after this play. Moreover, he has captured the uneasy atmosphere that has been put to the fore from a difficult man who really does not know how to be with children who are moving on with their lives. Max Dorey’s set and costumes are ornate as with the intimate space of the Old Red Lion Theatre we feel as if we are intruding or being a voyeur delving into the struggles that the Simon family are experiencing. Also, the scenic art and construction is pretty good as it shows how money is a problem for this family now due to the Great Depression. Overall, the experience of, ‘No Villain’ was a really impressive and a total privilege to witness the first ever production of Arthur Miller’s first play.