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Chigozie Obioma’s debut novel, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015, is a portrait of four brothers in western Nigeria in the Nineties.
Their strict father has a blueprint for their futures — one will be a doctor, another a pilot, and so on. When he moves to a new job they’re spared his watchful gaze and throw themselves into a new, forbidden pursuit: fishing in the nearby river. But they catch more than they’ve bargained for, and their relationships are tainted by a strange encounter with a local oddball who’s also an oracle.
Gbolahan Obisesan’s adaptation reduces the scope of Obioma’s layered, complex and slow-burning book, turning it into a two-hander. It concentrates on brothers Ben and Obembe, though they morph into other people, with the physically and vocally agile Michael Ajao and Valentine Olukoga capturing the mannerisms of multiple characters. What’s more, it preserves the novel’s haunting atmosphere and dark interest in aspiration and disappointment, violence and vengeance.
Jack McNamara’s intimate production, designed by Amelia Jane Hankin, makes clever use of metal poles that serve as barriers, tools and symbolic ornaments. It sometimes strains too hard for an audacious intensity, but there’s a rich chemistry between the actors.
Although there are a few moments where the storytelling falters, this is a highly charged vision of the rivalry and affections between siblings, as well as a tragic depiction of what it truly means to come of age.
Until Dec 1 (020 7503 1646, arcolatheatre.com)
