Bryan Cranston delivers a magnetic, powerhouse performance in a stunning new production of Arthur Miller's classic tragedy, All My Sons. The masterful staging, directed by the acclaimed Ivo van Hove, is currently captivating audiences at London's Wyndham's Theatre.
A Powerful and Minimalist Staging
Van Hove, following his landmark 2015 revival of A View From the Bridge, once again strips away the literal setting. The familiar postwar Ohio backyard is replaced with a stark, minimalist stage that feels both abstract and epic. The design, by Jan Versweyveld, is dominated by a giant, glowing sun-like aperture that bathes the actors in rich, sunset hues, framing them like messengers from another world.
A fallen cherry tree, its limbs looking disconcertingly human, crowds the bare space. This tree was planted by the wealthy couple Joe and Kate Keller in memory of their son Larry, a pilot who has been missing in action since World War II for three years.
Stellar Performances Drive the Tragedy
At the heart of the drama is Bryan Cranston as Joe Keller, the wily American patriarch and successful factory owner. Cranston portrays a man oppressed by the knowledge that he has betrayed everyone he loves for financial gain, maintaining a statesmanlike pragmatism to hide his grief from the neighbourhood.
Opposite him, Marianne Jean-Baptiste gives a performance of profound depth as his wife, Kate. Fragile yet never weak, she refuses to accept reality, insisting that her lost son Larry will return. Their other son, Chris, is portrayed with brilliant adolescence by Paapa Essiedu. He is an idealist, high on righteous optimism, determined to move past the war and marry his brother's former girlfriend, Annie, played with sturdy appeal by Hayley Squires.
The pain that resonates most powerfully comes from Essiedu's portrayal of a son crushed under the colossal weight of his father's moral failings. His youthful buoyancy makes the eventual, ugly revelations about the bleak side of American profiteering even more tragic.
A Community and a Downfall
Van Hove ingeniously creates a sense of a local community that bustles into the backyard for tense exchanges and card games. This hum of suburban life later transforms into a nightmarish whine of gossip as the play's tragedy reaches its full force. Tom Glynn-Carney, as Annie's brother George, crashes into the story like a force from a dark fable, bringing a horror story energy to expose the truth.
Joe Keller's downfall is absolute. He hasn't merely displeased his community; he has angered the old gods. The production carries an almost unbearable heaviness, a crushing gravity that makes this revival an unmissable theatrical event.
All My Sons is playing at Wyndham's Theatre until 7 March 2026.
