Andrew Keatley’s play The Gathered Leaves was first performed at the Park Theatre in 2015 and now on its 10th anniversary, it’s back at the same venue for the next four weeks.
Set in the palatial home of the Pennington’s William and Olivia, The Gathered Leaves is the story of a well to do, professional, English family who on the surface seem normal but are as dysfunctional as a family can be with dark secrets and an icy coldness (the children call their parents by their first names and not Mother and Father) that chills the warmth you would hope a loving family would have.
The play opens with two young boys reproducing an episode of Dr Who, with one being bossy and fussy about the dialogue, the other bumbling and forgetful. We later learn that these are Samuel and Giles Pennington, two brothers, who also open the second act. When they leave the stage, we are brought into more recent times, although we’re not told when this is, although judging by the fact that there are no mobile phones, William has fought in the war and the family play Trivial Pursuit and Uno, at a guess, we’re in the early eighties. Giles, now in his forties, arrives with his family, wife Sophie, son Simon and daughter Emily (names as middle class as you can get). It’s William’s birthday and Samuel has made him an amazing cake in the shape of the enormous house the Penningtons live in – William is a lawyer and has obviously been very successful. Samuel is a little odd, and we later learn that he’s autistic and lives in a home. Giles goes off to the airport to collect his sister Alice and her daughter Aurelia, who has been living in France for the past seventeen years, having had an affair when she was a teenager and has been cast out by her father. When the whole family is gathered (the gathered leaves?), we learn some of the secrets they’re all keeping from each other as the layers are peeled away.
At first, it seems that The Gathered Leaves is going to be about William, who is an authoritarian, manipulative patriarch. He’s had a couple of minor strokes and may be suffering from dementia but the focus moves away from him as the play develops, and it pivots towards Samuel and his autism, which affects everyone in the family. He has all kinds of symptoms, such as attention to detail, OCD and other mannerisms. Whilst he’s the centre of attention for most of the play, he also seems to be on the edge of the action – mirroring what it might be like to be on the spectrum and always holding the audience’s attention as we empathise with his solitude and loneliness whilst dealing with a world that doesn’t always include him.
The characters in The Gathered Leaves are somewhat clichéd with the controlling paterfamilias, the put upon downtrodden wife, the couple who are having marriage problems (Giles and Sophie), the outcast daughter (Alice), and the knowing and disrespectful teens and twenties (Emily, Aurelia, and Simon). Only Samuel isn’t a cliché, as his autism is unique to him.
What makes The Gathered Leaves worth seeing are the performances. Richard Stirling is wonderful as Samuel, making us feel his pain. In his bio, Stirling says he’s categorised as ASD 6A02, which means he’s on the autism spectrum himself, so is obviously acting from experience; he’s also a member of MENSA! Jonathan Hyde as William gives William great gravitas whilst being very dislikeable. Chris Larkin as Giles is excellent as the put-upon husband who loves and supports his brother, whatever the cost. The rest of the cast are all very good, in particular Joanne Pearce as Olivia as the put upon wife and mother who has a lot to deal with, teetering on the edge.
A special mention should go to Dick Bird’s set which is startling. The walls go all the way up to the ceiling of the auditorium, some 25 feet or so, with picture rails, architraves and cornices – just like the walls of a grand house would be. However, it does look as if most of the budget has been spent on the walls, as the furniture in the very grand house is sparce and quite cheap looking – not what you’d expect.
The Gathered Leaves is interesting, if a little old-fashioned and long (almost two hours, forty minutes including an interval). What makes it work and what’s at the heart of Keatley’s play is that, amidst all the angst of a family in disarray, is the love and humanity of two brothers who will stick together whatever life throws at them.
Review by Alan Fitter
The Pennington family have not been in the same room for 17 years, yet on the eve of William’s 75th birthday all three generations gather in the hope that the mistakes of the past can be resigned to history.
An errant daughter, an autistic son, and a second son that could never just grasp the nettle; his children have always proved a disappointment to his lofty ambitions. With long-held resentments rising back to the surface, and new problems unexpectedly presenting themselves, any plans of family reconciliation may give way to further turmoil. But William knows he is running out of time to accept his family on their own terms – even if they cannot overlook his own shortcomings in return.
Joe Burrell – Young Samuel Pennington
Ella Dale – Emily Pennington
Ellis Elijah – Young Giles Pennington
Jonathan Hyde – William Pennington
Chris Larkin – Giles Pennington
George Lorimer – Simon Pennington
Joanne Pearce – Olivia Pennington
Taneetrah Porter – Aurelia Ndjeya
Richard Stirling – Samuel Pennington
Olivia Vinall – Alice Pennington
Zoë Waites – Sophie Pennington
Written by Andrew Keatley
Directed by Adrian Noble
Dick Bird – Designer
Paul Pyant – Lighting Designer
Max Pappenheim – Sound Designer
Gabrielle Dawes CDG – Casting Director
THE GATHERED LEAVES
Park Theatre
13 August to 20 September 2025
