All My Sons

The fragile foundations of the American Dream are gradually exposed then chipped away in Arthur Miller's highly charged tale of dangerously twisted priorities, All My Sons.

From the very beginning, there are heavy hints to what's in store. A memorial tree planted for a son missing in action has been snapped in half by a violent storm. A young woman whose own family imploded years earlier has returned to her hometown, and to the perfectly-preserved bedroom of her absent sweetheart

Michael Taylor's lush back garden set provides a suitably serene setting for the increasingly fraught reunion of the Keller and Deever families, once united by a manufacturing business the two patriarchs ran together. Now, Steve Deever is doing time for knowingly supplying faulty parts to the US military, while Joe Keller is a popular and successful pillar of the community.

It's not so much a question of whether the truth will out, but rather how, when and with what consequences?

In John Dove's production for the Lyceum, a great ensemble cast brings to life the residents of an unnamed suburban neighbourhood in which neighbours pop back and forth through the garden fence and a flag decorates every porch. By the end of the play, the idyllic setting couldn't contrast more sharply with the increasingly ugly exchanges between a set of characters whose happiness depends on a combination of money, deception and maintaining the status quo at all costs.

In particular, Meg Fraser is memorable in a small but deadly role as the Keller's efficient nurse neighbour Sue, and Robin Laing gives a subtle performance as lawyer George Deever, struggling to cope with his conflicting emotions.

A promising start to 2007 and a welcome opportunity to hear some of the country's best actors deliver killer lines by a masterful playwright.