My Brother, My Brother, My Brother (theatre review)

Survival is at stake when three young men find themselves lost in the middle of the ocean with no food and very little water and no way back to dry land. When they set off in Isaac’s 81-year-old grandfather’s small fishing boat, his grandad was with them, but now he is nowhere to be seen. Then the trio all fell asleep at the same time. Very unusual. And as they awaken, one by one, each of them feels that they have been drugged.

The radio is broken, the fuel line has been cut, the boat is taking on water, they have no anchor and are drifting further and further out to sea. There is no sign of any other vessel or plane. The boys are desperate and angry. To add to their difficulties, Connor has a major heart issue. At first, Issac calls out in despair for his grandfather, but like Jack and Connor he comes around to questioning why his grandad abandoned them.

The lads use all their smarts to try to find a solution to their invidious situation, but their predicament doesn’t improve. Connor begins to query society’s treatment of men. The trio bickers and laughs and jokes. Written and directed by the author of Marooned, Michael Gray Griffith, My Brother, My Brother, My Brother is a play about mateship and masculinity.

Unfolding in two acts, over a total of 90 minutes, I thought the work was superbly set up. I was intrigued and involved from the get go and longed to hear more at interval. Although I appreciated the balance between light and shade, I was less sold on the longer second act. It explored a plethora of ideas, but didn’t provide any solutions. Rather, it just pointed to problems. I thought of it as spit balling and it became somewhat repetitive. It also felt stretched. It appeared that Michael Gray Griffith had a particular axe to grind about the dangers of the COVID-19 jabs.

By and large, the three actors – Odysseus, Joshua Bruce and Tom Dray – do a fine job with the material. They come across as passionate and invested, although I thought the one with the heart problem pushed too hard in Act II. The staging in the intimate space at Alex Theatre is excellent. Two halves of a boat lie a metre or two apart. That, along with a handful of props, are all that is needed.

My Brother, My Brother, My Brother has the necessary ingredients for a totally compelling production, but more focus is needed in the run home. It is on at Alex Theatre until Saturday, 21^st September, 2024.

Alex First

Other reviews you might enjoy:

• Marooned (Wolves Theatre Company) – theatre review
• The Magnolia Tree (Alex Theatre) – theatre review
• Chemistry (The Little Theatre Co) – theatre review