Fog at Finborough Theatre

Fog at Finborough Theatre

09 January, 2012
by: Naima Khan

Toby Wharton and Tash Fairbanks' new play is a cold picture of a family in flux, says Naima Khan.

One of the most striking elements of Toby Wharton's new play, Fog, is Toby Wharton. As well as writing the play in partnership with Tash Fairbanks, Wharton plays its eponymous lead who we meet on the day he moves in with his dad, Cannon. And this family reunion is loaded. Cannon, a former soldier, has come back from war to set up a home with the children he left in care ten years ago, and he finds them (with some difficulty) incredibly damaged.

To the writers' credit, Fog is a cut above simply revealing the horrors of life in a children's home, nor is it a damning indictment of the social care system. Instead, it points out some of the harsher, more contemplative truths involved in the solution we provide for kids when their families break down. One being that family is fluid, not the concrete social structure we often assume it to be.

Fog and his sister Lou cling to their flimsy family for dear life and they are both intensely and refreshingly verbose about it in their own way. The details they express are handed out to us steadily and briefly so that by the end we're looking at a pile of terrible circumstances all ready to implode. From Fog's bullying and Cannon's limited employment opportunities to Lou's self-harming, these issues are touched on in the most naturalistic way. They're never dwelt on, not used for dramatic impact, but still they linger with the audience.

The impact comes from the incredible cast directed with precision by Che Walker. Wharton's presence provides as much force when he's standing off to the side, silent, as when he attempts to wax lyrical with his university-bound friend, Michael; all the while asserting his power, his plans (childish though they may be) and his masculinity. His relationship with peacemaker Michael, played endearingly by Benjamin Cawley, is an opportunity for Fog to show genuine admiration for someone who wants to move on. Similarly, the suspicion he faces from Michael's sister Bernice reflects the way he sees himself beyond his estate. Bernice is ambitious and annoying but sweetly protective of her brother and her primary concern is Fog's influence.

It's a shame Bernice is used to make the same point repeatedly and that the plot doesn't really go anywhere original. Aspirational young people facing a multitude of challenges are nothing new. Neither is using higher education as the universal way out of a rut. But I like Wharton and Fairbank's portrait of the fragility of family, and the way they lure us into thinking we have things sussed before revealing, in a by-the-way manner, some new vulnerability we've failed to consider. Their subject makes Fog a frightening play but their characters are funny and as memorable as the heavy themes in this perfectly ripe production.




Fog runs at Finborough Theatre until 28th January 2012


Image by Arnim Friess

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Naima Khan