For the four siblings of Upper Dibden, the relics of the past threaten to catastrophise the future in this smart and witty comedy where family legacy and allegiances are put on the line.
Ben Ockrent’s new comedy Relics centres on four estranged, distinctly different siblings who all convene at the old Victorian house belonging to their recently deceased mother to reconcile with their grief and work out what to do with her possessions. Yet the unearthing of one particular possession, an old painting, threatens to derail the reconnection between the quartet, once questions about its heritage and ownership become clear.
It is an interesting premise, and one which asks much larger questions than one might expect. Directed by Michael Longhurst, the production, once it gets past a slow start, combines verbal and physical comedy with success, leaning hard on the energy of the lead four to propel the piece to an unexpectedly moving and thought-provoking conclusion.
At the forefront is elder sibling Olivia (Sally Phillips). Phillips’s deft comedic timing and experience are on full display here, from craddling her mother’s healing crystal, sharply delivering one-liners through to a superb mime routine towards the play’s climax, directed by movement director Chi-San Howard, which effectively lifts the play out of its dialogue-centric comedy and into something much more absurd. Yet despite its labelling as a comedy, the complexity of Olivia’s character, along with her three siblings, lingers heavily upon the piece. Olivia, the eldest sibling, cuts a forlorn figure, having cared for their mother until her death, and with the toll of this, holding the house together and being the family’s new matriarch all weighing on her shoulders. Phillips succeeds here in the quieter moments, where Olivia shakes and sniffles, desperate to maintain a sense of composure while events shatter around her.
Meanwhile, the younger two siblings, anxious Rob (Sam Swainsbury) and terminally tantruming youngest Michelle (Charly Clive), swing from being a comfort to being an anchor around Olivia. Swainsbury is good fun as Rob, with his fear of driving his rented transit van, something out of a slapstick comedy act, yet maintaining a sense of genuine anguish and vulnerability, particularly when discussing the care for his autistic son Gabe, which keeps a sense of authenticity about the character.
Clive’s Michelle, on the other hand, is underdeveloped, with a broken relationship with an Arctic scientist only touched upon. Nevertheless, there are some more entertaining moments as Michelle indulges in the siblings’ newfound chaos, swigging a whiskey bottle and flinging a Dairylea-stuffed pumpkin about, a bizarre prop that feels still right at home in a scenario where the four, facing an unimaginable decision, are also comprehending their own sense of grief.
Yet on the other side of the family is arrogant, brash Jonny (JJ Feild). Instantly dislikeable and scheming, Jonny, the eldest brother of the four, propels the comedy forward with his discovery about the painting, attempting to manipulate the other three into getting his own way. Despite the character’s genuinely awful nature, Ockrent’s script never fully leans into just how terrible Jonny is, or at least could be, building still to a shocking if not terribly violent final act of defiance, that still very much sticks the comedic landing.
Indeed, the intersection between the history of the painting and the squabbling of the four siblings is neatly done. While it can get a bit lost in some moments of clumsy dialogue, the script remains neat in terms of its comedic presentation. There are moments of outlandish physical comedy, and some sharply precise punchlines, and Relics works hard to maintain the balance between entertaining comedy and watching four individuals who are now without their parents slip back into childhood scraps. This notion is acutely evoked too by Joanna Scotcher’s set design, which feels ever-so-slightly oversized, almost dwarfing the four back to their childhood states.
Early in the play, Rob warns that arguments over inheritance can destroy families. So, then, what is the price of inheritance? For these characters, it is not just a 40% tax, but the threat of a crisis that blends comedy with complexity in a thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining piece.
