Caryl Churchill‘s futuristic play from 2002 now seems a lot less fantastic and improbable. A Number was written when Dolly the cloned sheep was on everyone’s minds, and it was a natural leap to pursue the possibility that humans could be cloned.
I’ve seen several productions of this play before, notably with Timothy West and his real-life son Samuel West at Sheffield back in 2006, so the plot isn’t new to me.
What I seek from engaging with the play is understanding how the director/designer (Lucy Aley-Parker) has interpreted Churchill’s lack of stage directions or any clue to setting; and the quality of the two performances.
The Questors have staged many ambitious productions over the last few years. A Number may seem an easy choice for a smaller space, but it is deeper and more complex than its 65 minute running time may suggest.
The play calls for one actor (Robert Gordon Clark) to play Salter, the father of the original and cloned sons. He is often reactive, with one word responses, and has to suggest a lot of pain, anger, regret and frustration.
The other actor (James Burgess) plays three ‘identical’ parts, noted in the programme as Bernard 1, Bernard 2, and Michael. B1 is abrasive, violent, damaged. B2 is mild-mannered, affectionate. Michael is a stranger who finds happiness in the smallest of things.
The design takes inspiration from Michael Ibbison’s Siblings, an artwork painted in 2021 and made into a bespoke black/grey version for this production. The floor continues the theme, with a red-topped chair and settee adding the only colour.
The back wall serves as a screen for video projection (Terry Mummery) between the various scenes, showing cells subdividing, underlining the issue of A Number of people, all made from exactly the same genetic material.
It’s a stripped-down take – at the Bridge Theatre 5 years ago the sets were so busy and fast-moving they became an additional character in the production and the left-field ideas it was suggesting. Here, the director makes matters spare and focused on the actors.
Costumes by Nichola Thomas help Burgess’s character to read very differently to us, while the play firmly explores the nature v nurture debate, as well as the moral, ethical and psychological questions of cloning or ‘starting over’.
Science has taken a huge step forward since A Number was conceived. The rise of artificial intelligence offers potential for both great help and harm within medical practice. It can do a lot of things we may feel are ‘wrong’.
The actors here are extremely adept in realising their roles. Burgess offers three compelling portraits of Salter’s ‘sons’; Gordon Clark has a steely stillness that suggests he masks his real feelings.
This is a powerful and intriguing revival. A topic that remains timely, and enough spare capacity within the play’s lines to set you thinking as you leave.
4 stars.
A Number continues at the Questors Studio until 27 Sep with tickets here.
Image credit: Kansko Hata