Romans
04 October 2025
Almeida Theatre
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Romans, running at the Almeida until 11 October, is a meandering play examining masculinity in all its forms, following the three Roman brothers stretched over a century, from humble beginnings with an abusive father, an even more abusive boarding school, several wars and a plethora of other experiences, imbuing the brothers with an unnaturally long life.
We see the brothers develop in very different directions, from one becoming a soldier who becomes an adventurer, turns into a writer and later a cult-leader of sorts. Another brother turns his own abuse into a streak of cruelty, turning into a brutal coloniser and eventually famous businessman and richest man on earth. While the third brother never truly finds his direction, adrift in seeking himself and eventually becoming a badger.
There is a lot to this play, much of it intriguing and fascinating, but the length and direction gets muddled and confused in the second act. While there is strong direction and development in the long first act, with a starkly bare stage that rotates threateningly and revels in a gorgeous choreography of simultaneous storytelling with movement and passion, the second act goes a little off the rails. Losing direction and blending scenes in overlapping motion, there is just a little too much ambition to show all sides of the male experience, of masculinity in all its forms.
The production is strong and bold, diving head first into a world of power and loss, abuse and love, self-actualisation and regretted success. Yet the two acts feel disconnected, almost like two separate productions entirely, both visually and in theme. The first act is stark, audacious, brilliantly minimalistic in design and maximalistic in expression, yet the second act loses the boldness, adding stage dressing and lingering on scenes for longer than necessary. The introduction of several side-characters muddles the character development and clearness of direction.
Overall, Romans is a fascinating and urgent exploration of the male experience over the decades, but fails itself by trying to achieve too much.
