The Authenticator

This witty play by Winsome Pinnock takes us on a brisk but clever journey through a country house mystery with cod ghost story undertones.  I enjoyed it a lot.  Fee (Sylvestra Le Touzel) is a direct descendent of Henry Harford and has inherited the family estate, complete with a grand but crumbling mansion, and has discovered journals from her slave owning ancestor.  Abi (Rakie Ayola) and Marva (Cherrelle Skeete) are Black academics trying to authenticate the documents .  There’s much fun to be had poking fun at the impoverished aristocracy selling off their legacy to all and sundry to keep things going, with a fake ghost and a music artist, ‘Fallas E’ making a music video in the fountain in the grounds.  As the plot moves on, It turns out that everyone has some kind of connection to the Harford family plantation.  Abi’s Nigerian aristocratic ancestry were implicated in the slave trade, whilst Marva a working class protege has potentially her own link with the family through her grandfather so no one’s  hands are completely clean.  In amongst the laughs,there's opportunity for thought too, such as the toxic legacy of ancestors and the ethics of dealing with their history; how and whether to acknowledge or atone.  How much guilt or trauma should later generations bear, and when does acknowledging your ancestry become appropriation?.  There's also some stuff about authenticity too, with Fee having adopted a cockney accent when at uni, and both Abi and Marva concealing parts of their own family histories.  There is a surprising amount of fun to be found in all of that though, whilst still making sure that we understand the moral ambiguities.   

The plot runs like clockwork, reminding me a bit of an Agatha Christie, or maybe a Knives Out film, and it is assisted by the really clever set which transforms itself for each scene as needed.  It's in the Dorfman which can be a bit patchy on sightlines, but this one wasn't too bad as things kept changing.  It's in the round, and the set changes were fun too, with mantlepieces revolving, ceilings going up and down and floors and furniture transforming themselves.  And the performances from the three performers are all spot on, in terms of comedic timing, but also bringing seriousness when needed.    

I highly recommend this one.  It’s only 90 minutes but every one of them counts.