The Last of the Haussmans Review

The Last of the Haussmans

NT Live - Lyttelton Theatre

Recently NT Live broadcasted a new play called The Last of the Haussmans. It was written by the National Theatre's new writer Stephen Beresford. I was interested to see Julie Walters act on stage alongside Rory Kinnear in this domestic drama.

Elderly Judy Haussman (July Walters) lives in an Art Deco house on the Devon Coast, where she has recreated the 1960s world of the Ashrams. Her time as a hippie meant that she had neglected her family. However an operation has forced her children, Libby (Helen McCrory) and Nick (Rory Kinnear), to return and look after the mother they dislike. Whilst the pair quarrel with each other, Helen has to deal with her rebellious daughter, Summer (Isabella Laughland). Other visitors include Judy's doctor, Peter (Matthew Marsh), and a young man called Daniel (Taron Egerton), who comes everyday to use Judy's swimming pool.

At first I was interested in the play. The plot about a dysfunctional family is a familiar one, but it was intriguing to watch Nick wait nervously for a mother who he has not seen for years. The play nicely established how divided this family was, but that is as far as it goes. The problem is that Stephen Beresford puts so much effort into establishing this family as dysfunctional that the characters become one dimensional, and as a consequence not very interesting. Not even the mysteries or revelations that occur throughout the play were engaging. A small moment for instance was when Daniel first appears, and at first it was weird to see this stranger walking freely around the house, and indeed Nick keeps giving him looks. It was inappropriate however, to suddenly bring up in that same moment that the reason why Nick keeps looking at Daniel is because he is gay.

This is just one of many problems with the play itself, which let down the actors considerably. For example, Nick's homosexuality was never brought up again until near the end, and he even seemed to disappear during the second act. It is a shame for Rory Kinnear because he played a nervous and touchy Nick nicely. Julie Walters however was quite the larger-than-life character as Judy. The highlight would be Helen McCrory, who played a frustrated daughter/mother who has to look after Judy, whilst dealing with Summer and realising that she was repeating what Judy did to her as a mother. 

Yet the sub-plot where she was flirting with Peter was lacking in depth. Matthew Marsh's character was the least interesting because Beresford did not give him much personality and he seemed to just be there. The same could be said for Daniel though Taron Egerton did play the reserved but friendly young man well. Isabella Laughland however played the most interesting supporting character as Summer. She was quite the rebellious and outspoken teenager. Yet when she returns from visiting her divorced father for the first time, she acted like someone who had just found paradise. 

One wonders why the play did not follow her because it just meanders through the stories that revolve around Judy. There was a lack of character development until Beresford suddenly went into fifth gear near the end. The result is a number of big revelations that, although they are hinted at, come out of nowhere in relation to what has been going on. He even tries to connect these revelations with the sub-plots, which made them feel implausible. What was worse was the humor that intertwined with the scene. Although there were some funny moments, the humor that occurs during the play felt like padding during this weak story. When the big revelations came the humor, along with any further sub-plot that are thrown in, undermined the drama that could have been created from this scene

Overall I would have recommended this at a low discount just to see the actors alone. But it does mean trudging through some uninteresting story lines that come together to create a mess. Even after the climax the play was stretching itself by including one more scene. Not even the cluttered set, which represented Judy's care-free life, had personality despite the rooms that are revealed by the revolving stage. Although the actors were good, I cannot bring myself to recommending this play on any level. Although the NT screened the last performance, I would give my lowest rating which is to AVOID this production.

AVOID!