A Number is a riveting 2002 play by the award-winning British playwright Caryl Churchill. It’s been given as remarkable a production by Edge of the Universe Theater in association with Avant Bard Theatre.
Remarkable because its two performers — father and son actors David Bryan Jackson and Max Jackson, playing father and son — are flawless.
To be clear: a father who has cloned his original flawed son. The truth of the situation cleverly unravels in four stark scenes set at a kitchen table.
Are we who we are because of nurture or nature? This long-argued debate simmers here as the two actors delve into what happened with a cloning experiment.
How do the lies and hubris of the father weigh on his sons? The elder Jackson unravels a deeply disturbing father with chilling deception and precision.
Each scene uncovers more of the father’s lies. This compelling play is structured in short scenes that must be pieced together. There is little exposition. We are driven into the middle of the conflict. We are the sons wanting to know the truth, and finally understanding that our father’s truths can never be our own.
The star of this production is the younger Jackson playing the roles of three sons with three distinct life paths and personalities. What we do know is that at every turn the performance of Max Jackson pulses with life and fervor.
And the play, while dark, probing, and thought-provoking, ends with innocence and joy.
The direction, by Stephen Jarrett, reflects the sparingly written play — keeping the characters almost claustrophobically in one another’s face for most of their 60-minute, one-act performance.
The elegantly simple set design by Simone Schneeberg and the dramatic lighting by Hailey LaRoe, along with the eerie acoustics of Steve Antosca, enhance the intensity of the father-son conflict. Lauren K. Lambie’s costume changes, especially for the younger Jackson, seamlessly convey the multiple clones.
At the 2022 Capital Fringe Festival, a production of A Number by this theater group was performed, which received positive reviews. However, the number one reason to see this current production of A Number is this: a father and son play a father and son, raging at one another, disappointed with one another, and seeking love from one another. On this set, in close range, with lies unfolding before us, their chemistry adds another level of emotional and physical intimacy to an already terrifyingly intimate play.
Running Time: 60 minutes, no intermission.
A Number plays through September 1, 2024 (Thursdays through Sundays), presented by Edge of the Universe Theater in association with Avant Bard Theatre performing at Gunston Arts Center Theatre II, 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington, VA. Purchase tickets ($30) online.
SEE ALSO:
Edge of the Universe Theater to present Caryl Churchill’s ‘A Number’ (news story, July 4, 2024)
