They are all his son
A father and a son meet for the first time. The adult son wants to know how he came to be. A tricky story, as he was conceived in a petri dish -- along with many others. This son is only one in “A Number,” Caryl Churchill’s taut reckoning between Salter (John Heard) and the clones of his only child (Steve Cell), now receiving its L.A. premiere at Odyssey Theatre.
An elliptical drama told in five scenes, the story feels both futuristic and ancient: This is Oedipus hanging with dad, Cain bitching about Abel, parents and children rewriting history. The sons share DNA, but each is a distinct self. Until they learn about one another. As one offspring puts it, “If that’s me over there, who am I?”
The play’s eerie mood is strikingly evoked by set designer Christopher Kuhl’s living room that seems to float in the theater -- an unadorned, masculine space of wood and leather. And with its halting dialogue, ambiguous relationships and unspoken sense of menace, “A Number” finds Churchill in a Pinteresque mode. Like the late master Harold, she is a droll and minute observer of the fiercest human qualities: need, hate, self-justification .
Director Bart DeLorenzo’s production is one of the most efficient pieces of stagecraft you’ll see this season. Whatever you make of it, the intelligence of Churchill’s writing makes this a must-see for anyone who cares about plays.
“A Number” has a translucent quality that reflects the actors playing it. In London, Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig’s charisma set the tone. In New York, Sam Shepard and Dallas Roberts made for a diffident pairing. Here the vibe is energetic but evasive. Cell, rangy and on edge as three different sons, supplies the momentum. His characters are both clear and maddeningly out of reach. Heard, as a broken man, is less declared: He shrugs off responsibility even as he verbally accepts it. Salter hoped science would save him. But our brave new world comes with all the oldest aches.
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‘A Number’
Where: Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (May 17 and 31, June 7); 7 p.m. Sunday (May 24, June 14 and 21); ends June 21
Price: $15 to $30
Contact: (310) 477-2055
Running time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
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