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Past Reviews Off Broadway Reviews |
Known for his lean and lyrical prose, Barry's Autumn Royal is another time-honored tale of dysfunctional siblings caring for an ailing father whose existence casts a dark shadow over their empty lives. But those siblings, May, a tart-tongued Maeve Higgins, and Timothy, a deliciously listless John Keating, are at a crossroads. Their unseen father, who lives in a room directly above their spartan kitchen, shows no sign of shuffling off his mortal coil anytime soon. As the years tick by and they pass the time commenting on their unsightly neighbors, May and Timothy wonder if it's time to put dear, old Dad in a nursing home, the Autumn Royal of the title. They'll have to if Tim is to move to Australia and become a surfer, and May is to go nightclubbing again. Or not? It turns out it's not just their father that keeps May and Timothy tethered to their house, as we learn once he's settled into a long-term care facility found courtesy of the phone book. There are buried traumas which the audience catches glimpses of in flashbacks that feel both fuzzy and clumsy. There's a wonderful moment when brother and sister consider the possibility of speeding their Dad's departure via patricide, but—unfortunately—Barry doesn't give us that grand of a happy ending. That would be too much dramatic tension for a play with such routine aspirations.
Autumn Royal
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