An Oak Tree at the Young Vic
AnxiousTheatregoer- May 8
- 6 min read
Aside from its stellar announced cast, An Oak Tree was a show that crossed my radar after discovering its beautifully in-depth access document, available publicly on the Young Vic website in both PDF and Word formats
The document is a stunning example to lead by, especially for a show that focuses on depressing topics and the rare shred of humour used to cope with them. It goes into a large amount of detail for its show's synopsis, written by actor and creator Tim Crouch, with reserved colours indicating, even at a brief skim, where distressing themes, sound cues and lighting cues take place.
Before entering the show, I only read the first paragraph of this section due to wanting to go in semi-blind to the show.
The document also contains a layout for the auditorium, what seating areas may be restricted and even details what the ushers of the theatre wear to help be identified. Gender neutral bathrooms that include both sanitary bins and baby changing facilities are a small addition to this document that, before even entering the auditorium, gives the Young Vic an air of safety and inclusivity that is sadly not as common across other on or off West End venues.
All of this information being so readily available, even long before the show opened, is an incredible display of inclusivity. This is the kind of level of care that will impact potential patrons to book at all. Having recently had some very hot and cold experiences asking about Accessibility within West End theatres, it is incredibly refreshing to see a venue this prepared, even before speaking to anyone on their team.
The show is produced by Francesca Moody Productions. With so many well-known and award-winning productions under their belt, such as the original live shows of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer. Having a reasonable number of BBC and Netflix household names in this show could either be a sign of quality or an attempt to make up for a lack of it.
A free PDF available (maybe from a QR code) highlights that upon this particular run's completion, the show will have been performed 400 different times in as many different iterations. The description of each particular performance is 'a fraction of a whole’.
The PDF also includes information to separate BSL, Captioned and Relaxed performances. Having 3 of these within a run this short is quite the feat and once again highlights that the combination of these creatives have pulled together one of the most accessible shows currently on the off west end. Unfortunately, this is where my praise for the run begins to stall.
*POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*
My Review:
Following a bizarre, non-linear story of a grieving father and the hypnotist who was responsible for his child's death, this one-act play is heavily dependent on two things: the guests' confidence and trust between the guest and the creator.
Jessie Buckley is the reason for one of the three stars I ended up giving this production. Its concept allows for such a wide range of acting talent to step into the role and give a varied and moving performance. Buckley, who is currently pregnant, brought an additional level to this performance that, at its core, focuses on losing a child. Moments of the show rely heavily on the audience sympathising with the grieving father, the role the guest actor steps into, and in a few of these moments we got to see Buckley visibly cradle her stomach. This added a deeper meaning to a scene quite near the end where the guest questions that “If the event is in the future, why can it not be changed?”. Being delivered by an actor not only of this calibre but also a soon-to-be mother left the impression that the scene deserved.
In its pre-show notes, it is stated that this idea is 20 years old, and the majority of the script feels that way. Its handling of difficult topics seems trapped and outdated, with lines that in a more consistently serious or tense setting could have given the deserved impact and strong emotional reaction to the guest's character. Warnings for mentions of suicide are very visible throughout the show but due to the themes the show explores around that it did feel out of place to have this mention boil down to the exact wording of “I have considered suicide” prompted by Crouch in a way that very easily turns what should be an upsetting and serious moment into a statement delivered as nonchalantly as “the sky is clear today”.
The benefits of a second viewing of this in theory can be endless, Bringing in actors that could play the role of Andy with more aggression or delusion could be very interesting but I feel that an experienced stage actor is the way to go with how this is directed and seeing the rest of the lineup being very tv/film industry heavy makes me worry for the quality of those shows. I say this as someone who, in the lead up to this opening, was telling anyone who would listen about how I was ecstatic to get any of the amazing stars announced for this production.
During a scene addressing the audience, Buckley visibly broke down and wonderfully shifted that into a sob. This seemed like a choice and not something present in other versions of the show, but without a script book or the consistency given to other plays, there's no telling if this was good because it was written to be or because the chosen actor decided to interpret the scene as such.
All acting choices aside, I'd like to get to the book and how it was presented to the guest actor. Crouch, from the moment the show begins, directs the actor live. These directions are given in a variety of volumes and tones throughout the show, which can prove confusing for moments as to which persona Crouch adapts is addressing the audience, the guest or the father. Moments of high tension were quickly pushed aside in half a beat to focus on directing the guest in a way that came across at times as hastily and almost untrustworthy. Continuity in the beats seemed very inconsistent with pauses emphasising uncomfortable silences rather than being used to build any form of tension.
The volume at parts also came off as inconsistent, as additionally highlighted by Anxious Theatregoer team member, Liz, who pointed out that parts of the direction seemed like they were intended to be heard only by the guest and others for both guest and audience. The lack of consistency added to the already choppy nature of the plot managing to never draw you into the story as much as a topic of this nature should.
I spent my post-show train journey heavily debating the rating and recommendation of this show. Segments that were excellent in terms of improvisation were consistently overshadowed by breaks, direction and over-explanation that took the audience and at times the guest actors themselves out of moments we were meant to connect with. This has the potential to be a great story with the variety of interpretations that actors could bring to the role, but a blatant lack of trust in the guest and inability to discern whether parts of our unconfident protagonists monologues were intentionally awkward or an insight into the performers own uncertainty on stage definitely hurts the production.
Many jokes are made in the show regarding the quality of the production and plot consistency, which again fell flat. An avant-garde piece of work shouldn't rely on directly telling your audience, "but I don't get it", to work. Non-linear stories of this nature flourish when the audience is left to come away with their own interpretations of what they were being shown. Quips asking the guest if they were enjoying the writing or familiar with the creators' other works came across as the audience laughing at, not with the performers.
In short, this could be a good show, it could be entertaining, and it could be heartfelt, but for a show with two decades behind it and a run with no previews, this current production seems the definition of hit and miss.
Content Warnings:
The show has content warnings clearly displayed around the foyer and throughout the theatre, which were as follows:
Death of a family member/child
Grief
Strong language
Discussion of suicide
Use of Blackouts
Loud Sounds/Music
Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope this review has proved interesting and helpful for you :)
- AnxiousTheatregoer
