A new Mike Bartlett play – premiering at the Donmar no less – is generally a cause for excitement. Mr Bartlett is not only prolific but also has a knack for finding and transmitting the zeitgeist in his work. In his latest foray, however, whilst there is wit aplenty – which lands pleasingly as it’s delivered by a formidable cast – he’s unfortunately come up with something that feels derivative and on-the-nose. Imagine Chekov’s The Seagull but with a great big part written for RFK Jr in lieu of a Sorin/ Trigorin mash-up and with a reverse Nina (coming from urbanity to the country in the same infatuated way the titular character of Chekov’s masterpiece seeks the stage in the city) – oh and with none of the actual jeopardy but lots of chat that is as fair-minded in its presentation as the BBC on its best behaviour.
Hatte Morahan and Sam Troughton in Juniper Blood – Donmar Warehouse – photo by Marc Brenner
Director James McDonald seems at pains to find a pastoral pace in his direction, but whilst the pauses and quiet are there for a reason, it somehow manages to make a very speechy “play of ideas” feel both slow and oddly rushed at the same time.
Man-of-the-land, Lip (Sam Troughton) silently rolls a cigarette or sings us into each of the three acts, all set in the open air on his and Ruth’s (Hattie Morahan) farm. We are brought to attention with stillness – presumably to transport us to the sense of space one experiences in an agrarian world. But with much comic chatter and urban clatter arrive Millie (Nadia Parkes), Ruth’s “ex-stepdaughter” and Femi (Terique Jarrett), her Oxford-bound buddy and land economist (who is about to embark on an MSc course that I’m not quite sure is actually offered at that particular university, but never mind…). McDonald gets a good feeling of contrast from the buzzy city slickers and despite the potential for these two characters being an annoying pastiche, they’re not. Parkes in particular gives an outstanding performance that locates all the comedy and manages to walk the tightrope between sanctimonious youthful self-parody and oracle of truth, pricking the pomposity of others. Jarrett similarly wins us over with his charm and commanding delivery, even if he is later given some pretty preachy lines that might even feel too oratorical for David Hare.
Ultimately, Ruth and Lip have come in pursuit of a kind of Good Life, and likewise, the set-up is essentially situation comedy: with disdainful city slickers on one side and the hardcore real farmers, personified by Tony (Jonathan Slinger), on the other. But in this sit-com premise, there are also lashings of most of the Chekhovian oeuvre – both comic and tragic. There are themes of inheritance and money and marriages of convenience and bereavement and loneliness and disillusion. And of course, impending revolution… or perhaps not? Because Bartlett can’t decide as much as none of the characters can either. There is so much self-consciousness about the right to have ideas and so many gags to that end that this “play of ideas” really goes nowhere and yet still feels polemical. Are we all going to talk ourselves to death because the planet is becoming barren, or maybe it isn’t, but what really matters is the here and now and the loved ones right in front of us? And “scene”.
As a showcase for a thoroughly brilliant cast, including younger faces to watch, Juniper Blood succeeds. With some decent bits of theatrically and a winning set by ULTZ along with some zinging lines, there is pleasure to be found in taking in this play. But it is not fresh or revelatory or frankly remotely important or urgent despite the themes that underpin it.
Review by Mary Beer
“Dreams. You don’t compromise on those.”
Lip and Ruth have left the city behind for a new life on a farm; trying to live differently, live better. But when Ruth’s stepdaughter and her provocative best friend arrive, this quiet rural project is thrown into chaos, as conflicting visions of the future come crashing into the present.
Cast: Terique Jarrett, Hattie Morahan, Nadia Parkes, Jonathan Slinger, Sam Troughton
Written by Mike Bartlett
Directed by James Macdonald
ULTZ – Designer
Jo Joelson- Lighting Designer
Helen Skiera – Sound Designer
Lottie Hines CDG – Casting Director
Hazel Holder – Voice and Dialect Coach
Annie Kershaw – Assistant Director
Mark Simmonds – Associate Set Designer
JUNIPER BLOOD
Donmar Warehouse
16 August to 4 October 2025
