English writer Max Porter wrote GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS in 2015. It won several awards and has been translated into twenty-seven languages.
It is a thin book, a novella, a hybrid of prose and poetic styles. It has been adapted several times into a play, followed by an adaptation into a screen play and film with Benedict Cumberbatch.
In a London flat, two young boys, (played by Phillip Lynch and Fraser Morrison) and their father, a Ted Hughes scholar, (played by Toby Schmitz) face the devastating grief from the sudden death of their mother and wife.
The father is a gentle, compassionate man with an eloquent, educated voice and articulate, poetic use of words. He is trying to cope, worried about his sons and their future. Ted Hughes’ 1970 poetry book of ‘Crows’ sits on his desk. The New York Times had written about Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s adaptation, “It beautifully evokes the way in which the whole world seems apocalyptic after a personal tragedy”.
This latest adaptation, as did the original novella, runs between the domestic and the mythic. The language of the play takes you to another world. Not just grief, but escapism, philosophy and the unknown. A place where the father can escape the torment he can’t control.
A crow comes to visit the family.
It was either summoned by Ted Hughes’ poem and the father…or the crow appears when aggrieved families need consolation. The scenes travel smoothly between reality and imagination. The crow becomes the father’s comforter, counsellor and a tough-love companion. He babysits the young boys, bringing them a mystical comfort. The family begin to heal. Young adult actors, Lynch and Morrison, do well at playing younger boys, lots of running, jumping, listening – Lynch being the wiser of the two boys.
Schmitz, with great skill, also plays the crow by donning a leather jacket, adding jerky/sharp and tilted gestures and subtly morphing his body language. Schmitz’s voice change for the crow is impressive. The cunning and clever crow adopts an east end London accent as if it has flown in from a cheeky Guy Ritchie production. The accent is very fitting. He works some crow sounds brilliantly into his monologues.
This adaptation has been written with great skill by director, the talented Simon Phillips, equally talented Nick Schlieper (also lighting designer), and the charismatic Schmitz, a formidable team.
The back wall of the stage has animated illustrations. Very effective in black and grey crow tones. They enhance the storyline, giving an extra sense of unreality. Jon Weber did the animation and lovely video design done by Craig Wilkinson. Sound designer Daniel Herten used faint crow-cries and flapping wing sounds. Fantastic.
Musician and composer Freya Schack-Arnott did a splendid job with the cello creating a kaleidoscope of sounds which matched Schmitz’s transitions from poetic rap to gut wrenching despair.
GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS is well worth seeing. It is stimulating and emotionally rich. It plays the Belvoir Street Theatre until August 24th, 2025.
Production photography by Brett Boardman.
