Gathered Leaves - Review

Review by Giada

It takes great writing and even better directing to achieve a little miracle: making me care about the vicissitudes of a white, wealthy, dysfunctional family in the late ’90s.
Like leaves in free fall, nine siblings gather at the family home forthe birthday of patriarch William. But the celebration is tainted from the start, as decades of miscommunication have poisoned their relationships. “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” wrote Tolstoy in Anna Karenina. Clearly, he hadn’t seen as much theatre as I have. Every psycho-family-drama™ follows the same tangled cocktail of secrets, betrayals, scandal. And, by the end, provide some form of reconciliation.

The Cast of The Gathered Leaves. Photo credit by Rich Southgate.

What truly won me over was the ensemble, directed masterfully by Adrian Noble, tasked with portraying some of the most unlikable characters Andrew Keatley could possibly write. Jonathan Hyde is phenomenal as William Pennington, delivering a dry, cynical, self-deprecating humour that feels like it was carved into him. Even sitting in the balcony, I felt so unsettled. His presence radiated fear and reverence. Even the looming shadow of death doesn’t seem to touch him, as if his ageing body is merely the final proof of human fallibility. William is a black hole, pulling everyone into his gravity and stealing their light.

He is both victim and perpetrator. Shaped by an emotionally barren upbringing and by undiagnosed PTSD, he becomes a mouthpiece for an older generation’s values that quietly ruined our parents’ generation. Too complicit in tradition to rebel, too emotionally repressed to acknowledge the damage. If you do try to stand up for yourself, like Alice (Olivia Vinall), you’re cast out. But if you stay, like Giles (Chris Larkin), you’re slowly crushed under years of emotional abuse. Samuel (Richard Stirling), whose autism renders him nearly invisible to his father, is not spared some of his spite.

No wonder it’s us who, distanced by time, geography, and shifting cultural norms, end up picking up the slack. Aurelia (TaneetrahPorter), Emily (Ella Dale), and Simon (George Lorimer) bring a breath of fresh air: empathy, openness, and the radical belief that things can be better. They challenge their parents and, remarkably, even get through to William. Not directly, but through a wavering, halting journey that results in the tiniest crumbs of affection and glimpse of his frailty. Just enough to make you almost forgivehim. Which is, frankly, unacceptable. And yet I found myself moved, conflicted, and angry at the writer for making me empathise. 

The Gathered Leaves. Photo credit by Rich Southgate.

These characters are complex, deeply flawed, and constantly shifting. Despite a setting that at times feels dated or distant, I was completely absorbed. The late ’90s backdrop invites questions: how much of that old mindset still lingers today? The play touches on classism, racism, and ableism, but mostly on the surface. Maybe that's part of the point: the residue of that mentality still echoes today and lingers in the privacy of the living rooms, even as we hope and pretend it's fading away.

I fear the ending came too quickly. So many questions remain unanswered. What did Alice write on the card? Will anyone ever read those unopened letters? Will Giles and Sophie save their marriage? And seriously, what were the other presents? I left the theatre going in circles, dissecting each line, each scene. I love when a play keeps unravelling in my head long after it ends. The Gathered Leaves has cut deeper than I’d like to admit.

The Gathered Leaves runs at Park Theatre until 20th September 2025. Tickets are available from https://parktheatre.co.uk/events/the-gathered-leaves/

(L to R) Richard Stirling and Chris Larkin  - The Gathered Leaves - Photo by Rich Southgate.