The Inheritance

Having set the scene for three sisters’ adult interactions with a prologue portraying them as youngsters whose early inclinations we are to believe set them on their lives’ trajectories, the substance of Greg Gould’s first full-length play, The Inheritance, nominally focuses on the reading of their father’s last will and testament, in the offices of their late father’s executor, his old friend and lawyer John Lauder.  The action mostly alternates between Lauder’s office and a sanctuary from the action in that office, the “restrooms”.

The play itself — leaving aside a setup that, for the sake of wrestling in an outsized plot device, unfortunately portrays a girl completely inconsistent with her older self — is pretty good and impressive for a full-length debut by the author.  It features nice interactions; a little daring without descent into utter crassness; lots of great lines; and some nice resolutions.  Handled with finesse, with every character not trying too hard to convince us of the strength of her emotions, the play has every potential to deliver many laughs and a moving climax.

Most of this production (leaving aside parts in which characters’ vehemence verged on caricature) was enjoyable and easy to appreciate.  Simple alternation in lighting the two areas of the stage effected seamless scene changes, and costuming and sets were simple and believable.  Some of the younger (prologue) versions of the sisters were well matched to their older selves, and the performances by seasoned actor Rob De Fries and relative newcomer Linda Chen in particular allowed the audience to relax into the illusion of the stage.

For a first full-length play, The Inheritance has a great deal to recommend it.  The writing is fresh and clever, and its few wrinkles wouldn’t take much to iron out.  This is a playwright to watch.

John P. Harvey

Image: [L–R] Jess Waterhouse, Alexandra Howard, Rob De Fries, and Linda Chen, in The Inheritance.

PREVIEW AND BUY THE SCRIPT HERE.