Writer: Ben Ockrent
Director: Michael Longhurst
Among the packing boxes and endless rolls of Gaffer Tape in Joanna Scotcher’s clever set, four siblings meet in their childhood home to discuss the unsavoury business of inheritance tax and who gets what. Besides the usual pecking order and rivalries typical in many families, pressing questions emerge. Should Grandpa’s tree have a preservation order if the house is sold? Who will get his war medals? But the question of what to do about a ‘weird’ family painting really gets the dramatic ball in motion in this impressively crafted, sharply written, new comedy by Ben Ockrent.
Alongside its gag-a-minute dialogue and sharply drawn characters, Relics is an intelligent and witty ensemble piece that taps into something deeper. This two-hour-and-ten-minute play, which includes an interval, illustrates how family dynamics shift and strain when placed under intense pressure, how predetermined roles are acted out, and how old resentments can boil to the surface. The potentially valuable painting and its dubious origins throw light on bigger questions, around ownership of material goods, but also the accountability of actions and conscience.
Michael Longhurst’s well-paced, kinetic direction doesn’t miss a beat in this terrific four-hander. The well-chosen cast are all funny and flawed with needs, wants and secrets, but who wields the most influence or power? Who has most to lose as the stakes rise and tension builds? Elder sister Olivia, played by Sally Phillips, establishes herself as the matriarch now that their mother is dead. She takes charge of how the estate will be managed, but her controlling veneer belies an anxiety-ridden, regretful soul. How strong or fragile is this family structure, and can it survive?
Teasing, slightly dodgy older brother Johnny is amusingly embodied by JJ Feild. Successful, aspirational and emotionally AWOL, he sweeps in with big ideas and an agenda. By-the-book mediator, Rob, played comically ‘straight’ by Sam Swainsbury , fittingly works in health and safety and wants to keep everyone happy. While Charly Clive as Michelle – or Smell, as Rob childishly calls her—is the youngest: ironic, detached, self-absorbed. Is her ‘expressive’ side being ‘wasted’ in her job as a primary school teacher?
The addition of a fight director in the credits—hats off to Bret Yount—is always something to look forward to, a bit like how trigger warnings can give a frisson of anticipation to the non-triggered. The Relics’ fight scene is tremendous. Performed entirely in slow motion, it’s where we arrive after the compass of morality finds itself spinning aimlessly. In a moving tapestry of chaotic hilarity, both cartoon-like and operatic, there are fists, a chainsaw, and a weaponised healing crystal. Brought to you by Francesca Moody Productions – who were behind Fleabag and Baby Reindeer – this is intelligent, wildly entertaining theatre. The aftermath of death has never been more fun.
Runs until 18 July 2026
