Review: All My Sons at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

All My Sons

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Reviewed on Wednesday 21st May 2014

Known as the play that established Arthur Miller as one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th Century, All My Sons is a sensational piece of theatre! The play begins peacefully on a calm summer's day in Joe and Kate Keller’s backyard. Everything is seemingly going swimmingly, but of course before long events begin to spiral with unexpected visitors and life changing bombshells...

This was my first time seeing a production of All My Sons. Miller's writing is extraordinarily intense, his characters are so deep - you think you've worked something out and then suddenly new layers are revealed. However, I do not think this production at the Open Air Theatre works.

Gritty, dark and intense, All My Sons would be far more suited to one of the West End's smaller theatres. I wanted to feel as if I was intruding into the lives of this poor family, the audience should almost be made feel awkward and claustrophobic, but the atmosphere wasn’t right and this extra level of tension was not achieved which, at times, left me struggling to feel connected. 

Charles Aitken & Amy Nuttall

Last year’s productions of To Kill A Mockingbird and The Sound of Music were perfectly suited to the outdoor environment. I'm not suggesting every show staged at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre needs to be perfect for outdoor theatre, but the experience should at least be enhanced.

The cast give tremendous performances in what must be a draining production to perform night after night. There certainly was an excitement in the air as the play's various twists and turns unravelled during the spectacular second act.

The Open Air Theatre is an amazing place as the unique atmosphere still provides an incredible experience when the production is weak. If you see a bad show in the West End you can leave disheartened, but I can't ever imagine feeling disheartened after spending a magical evening at the Open Air Theatre. 

Where else do you get to look forward to interval cake, watch irritating audience members take twenty minutes to work out how to put on a poncho (when it's not even raining) and witness show stealing performances from stage storming pigeons?! If you have never been to the Open Air Theatre you simply must book a ticket to see something this season.

Reviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

All My Sons runs at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre until Saturday 7th June 2014.
Please visit www.openairtheatre.com for further information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

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