'The Humans' at Hampstead Theatre

Last week we went to see 'The Humans' at Hampstead Theatre. This is the play I saw in a touring version in Boston back in March this year with the last of the winter snow piled up outside the theatre doors. I was muffled up in a scarf and big coat but I was in sandals and shorts to see this version which was played by the Broadway cast on a much smaller stage in Hampstead.

It's the tale of the Blake family's first Thanksgiving dinner at Brigit, the youngest daughter's new apartment in Chinatown in New York. Brigit and her partner have just moved in and haven't finished unpacking yet but they host Brigit's grandmother, parents and older sister for the traditional dinner. We see traditions and hear home truths, long-standing jokes and family niggles, the awkwardness of the new member trying to fit in (Brigit's partner) as well as the grandmother suffering from dementia. Transpose this to a Christmas dinner in the UK and you have the equivalent.

As soon as I saw the set showing two floors and a spiral staircase it all came flooding back from when I saw it in Boston. But this was a different cast, a cast that had worked together for a long time and lived the play in a different way and that was obvious after the first few minutes. Even though this was a preview, the cast gelled in a good way, they were a family already and acted like it, playing off one another. I particularly liked the relationship of sisters Aimee and Brigit, sharing cares and jokes, the religious mother Deidre and the stoic father Erik. They were very believable as a family with the little jokes and hurts that define families. I loved the way that Aimee's loss of her girlfriend is treated like any family break-up and the grandmother having dementia is just another trial thrown at the family by life. Neither are pointed at or made special in way and Erik, the father, consoles Aimee after an awkward phone call.

The writing by Stephen Karam is spot on and very naturalistic and the acting was excellent. I particularly liked Cassie Beck as Aimee, Jayne Houdyshell as the mother and Reed Birney as the father. The writing and the winning performances drew me in and made me a silent viewer to the family scenes I watched. I thoroughly enjoyed this production and might well go back for seconds later in the run. Go and see it if you can.