Theatre review: The Humans

Stephen Karam’s The Humans was a Pulitzer nominee and Tony winner; if your preconception of plays that New York critics go crazy for means you’re picturing a family sitting down to a lavish Thanksgiving dinner, only to have all their problems, secrets and lies exposed, and the family’s finances turn out to be in dire straits nobody suspected, then shame on you for stereotyping: The dinner isn’t actually all that lavish. Brigid (Sarah Steele) has just moved into a split-level basement apartment in New York’s Chinatown with her boyfriend Rich (Ariyan Moayed,) and although they’re still in the process of unpacking they’ve invited her Irish-American family to visit from Scranton, Pennsylvania for the holiday. Her father Erik (Reed Birney) has been working at a Catholic private school for 28 years, part of his benefits package being that his daughters could study there for free, so they’ve had an education that allowed Brigid to become a musician and her sister Aimee (Cassie Beck) a lawyer.

Her mother Deirdre (Jayne Houdyshell) is an office manager, working for much younger men who make a lot more money than her, but also spends much of her time looking after Erik’s wheelchair-bound mother Momo (Lauren Klein,) who has dementia and very few lucid periods.

Joe Mantello’s production comes from Broadway with its entire original cast intact, and there’s no question that they’re the evening’s greatest asset, along with Karam’s dialogue which sees the family wittily but lovingly take digs at each other and reveal much about their relationships. The set by David Zinn fits right into the recent trend of multi-level constructions that make full use of the Hampstead stage’s height, and Mantello uses every nook and cranny of the apartment Zinn's created to have the family explore, hide and confide, as well as to create a slightly ominous, shadowy space dominated by loud bangs from the noisy neighbour above and the trash compactor below.

It’s all pretty enjoyable but I did start to wonder when it would kick into some new gear that would justify its acclaimed status – I guess that’s a risk of selling a show based on these accolades. When the turning point came for me, it was unfortunately in the opposite direction: Karam has already laid it on thick for his characters; none more so than Aimee, who’s dealing badly with being dumped by her girlfriend, has colitis which will develop into cancer if she doesn’t get a colostomy, and is being pushed out of her firm because of all the time off her illness has caused her to take. By the time the play introduces – admittedly comparatively understatedly – a connection she and Erik have to 9/11 it becomes apparent that Karam has ticked every conceivable box critics in search of the next masterpiece are looking for. I may have been joking about it being awards-bait going in, but left convinced of it: Of course The Humans won a Best New Play Tony, it’s practically genetically engineered to win a Best New Play Tony.

Birney and Houdyshell also come over with Tony awards to their names, and I’m pleased to say their performances are subtler than the material, giving a lot of depth to their characters as Erik, who hasn’t slept properly for weeks, lurks around the dark corners of the flat, and Deirdre drops unsubtle hints about Brigid and Rich getting married, or her disapproval of the lack of religion in their home. Indeed all the cast are very strong, but – despite a fudged attempt to suggest the supernatural undertones of their discussions might actually come to something – I’m not convinced The Humans offers much that we haven’t seen before.

The Humans by Stephen Karam is booking until the 13th of October at Hampstead Theatre.

Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Marc Brenner.