As children grow up, love for their parents becomes laced with judgment, with passing years its harshness cemented by enduring resentments or tempered as age and wisdom provide perspective.
In his first solo show, Propeller Shakespeare co-founder (also The Crown and Coronation Street) Tony Bell captures the conundrum of squaring the failings of one’s parents with the legacy of their guiding hands, realising a degree of acceptance and ownership.
Man in the Rain is a collection of reminiscences framed by As You Like It’s seven ages of man speech, which Bell recites at his father’s funeral. Shakespeare’s words transport the narrative back to his childhood, kickstarting a sequence of events that recounts family life with a touching, warts and all honesty.
There is conflict between there, rarely but notably including violence, and the frustrations of Dorothy, whose professional ambitions were derailed by motherhood and the successful career of her academic husband, Alan. In this world of memories, Alan is found to be often absent, and, when present, emotionally distant, though nonetheless an influence on the young Bell.
Conspicuous by their absence from his story are Bell’s adult partners, about whom one infers his parents would have opinions to give, but no matter because even without them, through the arrangement of formative personal and family-based events, we see Bell seasoned into an adult looping back to the final act of a child for a parent, giving their eulogy.
This is a neat and well thought-out autobiographical piece. Performance has been an ever-present thread in his life, and songs and extracts are neatly integrated into his recollections, including a speech of Feste’s, from a Propeller all-male production of Twelfth Night, which stands as a highlight of his career.
Bell’s portrayal of his parents is tender and nuanced, enhanced by thoughtfully chosen music and clips from home movies. As himself, a natural charm is allowed to germinate under the direction of Caroline Faber, who has Bell seamlessly transform from baby to middle age.
Although Bell is by necessity at the centre of every event, in many ways, this is also a gently frank portrait of a family and a reminder of the birthright that bestows.