Theatre review: Firewing

Tim (Gerard Horan) is an established wildlife photographer - well-regarded and sometimes award-winning, but not quite successful enough to have made an international career out of it: He's spent much of his life in the same wooden hut by a lake near where he grew up, taking photographs of birds and urban foxes. In recent years he's become keen to find a successor he can pass on the tricks of the trade to, and perhaps even replicate an image that has, for better or worse, defined his career: A rare Siberian Firewing that somehow made it to England, an event so unlikely he was accused of forging the photo. He's begun advertising a weekend apprenticeship programme for aspiring photographers, and after various disappointing applicants he's hoping Marcus (Charlie Beck,) a young man from the same, still-deprived area as him, will be the one.

So David Pearson's Firewing treads fairly familiar ground as a two-hander between a curmudgeonly older man and a cocky young one, their initial personality clash turning into a grudging respect as they find common ground.

And all the weaker elements of the play come from how familiar this setup is, not just to the audience but seemingly to the playwright himself: We know the dynamic of this genre so well that Pearson throws us abruptly into it, with Tim impatiently snapping at Marcus and calling him an idiot within seconds of the latter first setting foot through the door.

The story continues with familiar beats - moments of connection, a tentative new trust that the younger man is planning to betray, and a revelation about just why the older one is suddenly so keen to find an heir to his legacy. But if the framework is one we've seen before at least it's executed nicely, with some snappy dialogue and a premise that, through its exploration of photographic composition and the way a single image can tell a complete story, gives quite a literal take on the idea of how we see and frame the world.

Alice Hamilton's briskly unsentimental production also helps, smoothing over some of the clumsier storytelling moments, and letting Horan and Beck build an interesting relationship. It never feels essential, but it never feels like a waste of time either.

Firewing by David Pearson is booking until the 23rd of May at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs.

Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Pamela Raith.