Orphans –The Kings Arms, Salford

Writer: Dennis Kelly

Director: Oliver Hurst

‘Orphans’ is a word used to describe people who have lost their parents. Author Dennis Kelly widens the usage to apply to people who lack the moral perspective and guidance usually provided by parents to the extent standards of behaviour in society are in danger of crumbling.

A quiet dinner between Helen (Hollie-Jay Bowes) and husband Danny (Ryan Clayton) is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Helen’s brother, Liam (John O’Neill) soaked in someone else’s blood. Liam’s claim that his clothes were stained when he helped a stranger who had been the victim of an attack is rapidly proved to be a lie and he admits to committing a racially motivated hate crime. Helen, accustomed to shielding her brother from the consequences of his impulsive actions, instinctively tries to persuade her vacillating husband not to report the incident to the authorities. But as the extent of Liam’s deception becomes clearer Helen and Danny find themselves questioning their own values.

Dennis Kelly’s script is dense and demanding. Speeches are lengthy and fragmented making delivery a challenge. The script is also manipulative, Liam, having been needy to a suffocating extent and displaying an admiration for his brother-in-law  which is decidedly creepy, suddenly switches to a figure of vengeance motivated by social class envy when required by the plot.

Director Oliver Hurst stages the drama as theatre-in-the-round, which, in view of the constant level of conflict in the play, becomes close to watching a boxing match between the characters. Orphans is a drama rather than a social satire and Hurst has not yet worked out how to make the audience feel comfortable laughing at the humour which occasionally eases the tension.

The threat of violence hangs heavy over the play. It is sometimes glibly remarked a Conservative is a Liberal who has been mugged. Danny’s response to having been harassed by a group of youths is to retreat from potential violence and stay at home. Despite their liberal values husband and wife both regard a nearby park and sink housing estate as no-go areas. Ryan Clayton plays Danny less as someone struggling with their conscience and more a character horrified to acknowledge they might be corruptible and capable of committing acts they find repellent.

Helen and Liam are orphans and there is the impression Helen has been forced, from an early age, into an unwanted maternal role and had to safeguard her socially-inadequate brother. Hollie-Jay Bowes carries Helen with a brittle self-control until events prove too much and, in a scorching speech, she tears into her brother and spitefully destroys the illusions he has used as a shield. It is hard to avoid the impression Helen’s morally-questionable manipulation of her husband is a force of habit – she has become so accustomed to covering up her brother’s excessive behaviour she no longer considers other options.

There is the nasty suggestion that daily exposure to crude cat-calls and casual violence leaves even an aspirational couple like Helen and Danny vulnerable to corruption so Liam serves as a catalyst facilitating the process. Both Helen and Danny accept Liam’s claim the victim of his attack was one of the youths who harassed Danny without pointing out Liam could not possibly have known this was the case as he was not present when the incident took place.

John O’Neill presents Liam as a child in the sense he does not understand the distinction between right and wrong.  In any given situation Liam’s instinct is to lie and then to construct elaborate fabrications to support the initial deception and O’Neill captures the panicky desperation experienced by Liam as he fears being caught out and his frightening willingness to resort to violence. Danny and Helen behave like parents with an unruly child, knowing Liam will eventually tell the truth if they allow him to keep talking.  Liam has a cloying sentimentality, idolising his late parents, while his sister can acknowledge their shortcomings, and constantly over-praising the achievements of his brother-in-law. Like a child he is easily led –drawn towards a known racist despite the warnings of his sister.

The depiction of a fragmented society necessitates some contrivances in the script but Orphans remains a powerful and disturbing play with excellent performances.

Runs until 17th October 2025