By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK?: **

WHEN? Friday 26 September, runs through 11 October 2025 RUNTIME: 170 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Last year this venue had a big hit with Eline Arbo’s play The Years which transferred to the West End and looked at the life of 1 woman at different stages across 65 years featuring multiple actresses, winning 2 Oliviers in the process.

• Read on for reasons including how pretentious full title, Romans, a novel perhaps sharply illustrates this play’s failure of form

Alice Birch’s (Normal People) Romans feels very much the companion piece following the lives of 3 brothers – the titular Romans – from Victorian times and abuse in private school to the present day.

Birch has arguably had most success writing for television, notably the brilliant Succession, and Romans seemingly nods to that much garlanded TV show with its title, framing device of the relationship between 3 brothers and even its sole theme that toxic masculinity breeds … gasp … toxic masculinity.

Succession, of course, had a lot more going on in it than that but Romans is a difficult homage which offers the unfortunate conundrum of being long on explanation and running time but, frustratingly, short on ideas.

It flatters to deceive thanks to a strong cast including Kyle Soller, as eldest brother Jack, who won an Olivier in the quite brilliant The Inheritance (Young Vic) and gives 1 of 2 stand-out performances in Disney+’s hugely underrated Andor.

Stuart Thompson (longlisted for a Best Theatre Actor monsta for a spellbinding performance) plays youngest brother Edmund earning our empathy as he finds himself cross-dressing to please his father who is missing his lost wife.

Oliver Johnstone (The Real Thing, Old Vic) plays cold, emotionless middle son Marlowe and gives 1 of his more convincing performances here not least when he is fuelled by colonial zeal and making his fortune on the back of those he is overthrowing while plundering their riches.

As good as these performances are, it’s only with the arrival of the women to the stage commentating on the actions of the men that the play can breathe a little with its fresh perspective on the stench of toxic masculinity that we’ve previously been subjected to.

Normal People and its affecting portrayal of the mental health problems of its central male character gave us some hope Birch could bring fresh insight into the predominantly male world she chooses to inhabit here but Romans actually feels short on lived experience.

Its pretentious full title, Romans, a novel perhaps sharply illustrates its failure of form. While its writing has promise, its execution on a stage with a pointless revolve doing a lot of heavy lifting to propel the meandering plot provides little emotional resonance.

Romans, a novel is perhaps better appreciated on the page rather than a near 3 hours on the stage where the lesson that abuse breeds cruelty is told in permanent revolve – again – and again.

• Main pictures by Romans courtesy Almeida Theatre Tickets
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