Joshua Harmon’s new play, We Had A World, may be unique in theatrical history: it wasn’t commissioned by a producer or theatre, but by his grandmother. A few weeks before she died, she asked Harmon to write about their family and make it “as bitter and vitriolic as possible”. While the play certainly has moments of bitterness and vitriol, it’s also funny, poignant and beautifully observed.
Joshua (Ryan Kopel) narrates the story of his dysfunctional family while interacting with his grandmother, Renee (Suzanne Bertish), and his mother, Ellen (Anna Francolini). The two women help steer the non-linear narrative, occasionally stepping into other roles, including the various men in their lives. Set in Manhattan, the play leaps across decades and locations as layer upon layer of family secrets are revealed. It’s meta theatre at its best – we know we’re watching a play being written as the author tells us so as he narrates his family’s story.
Renee is a feisty, endlessly curious woman who introduces her grandson to art and culture, although her judgement is sometimes questionable — taking a ten-year-old to a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition because she thinks it will be good for him. Joshua adores both his grandmother and his mother, but the two women can barely tolerate one another. The root of their conflict is Renee’s hidden alcoholism, something Joshua only fully understands years later, by which point he is an established playwright and has come out as gay, which is embraced by his always supportive grandmother.
Harmon’s sharp, witty script is unmistakably New York, with echoes of Woody Allen and Neil Simon permeating the dialogue. Although these are specifically Jewish New Yorkers, the themes of family, love and the chaos that accompanies both are universal. The action unfolds on Sarah Beaton’s deceptively simple set, furnished with little more than a handful of mismatched pieces of furniture and a block of ice (keep an eye on that — it becomes almost a character in its own right).
Josh Seymour directs with a confident, unobtrusive touch that keeps the audience thoroughly engaged throughout the uninterrupted hundred minutes. He is ably supported by Joshua Gadsby’s subtle lighting and Lex Kosanke’s even subtler sound design. Rehearsals must have been entertaining alongside Gadsby, the play is written by a Joshua, directed by a Josh, whose assistant director is Josh Stainer!
Superb writing deserves equally superb performances, and Harmon could hardly have hoped for a stronger cast. Although this is very much an ensemble piece, Bertish is astonishing as the family matriarch, creating a woman who is by turns infuriating, hilarious, vulnerable and deeply human. She delivers lines such as the suggestion that old people should welcome global warming because less snow means less ice to slip on with complete conviction. A glance, a pause, or the smallest movement of a hand can signal an entire shift in thought; Bertish is an actress operating at the height of her powers. Francolini is also superb as a mother who’s doing her best to hold it together as she battles with her own demons and fractured familial relationships. Holding everything together is Ryan Kopel’s Joshua, who more than matches these two formidable women while ensuring we empathise and share his joy, confusion and pain.
We Had A World is beautifully written, wonderfully acted and sensitively directed. It may be deeply personal and autobiographical, but its themes resonate far beyond one family. We recognise the characters’ triumphs and heartbreaks because, ultimately, that’s life — and no one gets out alive.
Review by Alan Fitter
Joshua Harmon’s deeply personal and searingly funny play brings to theatrical life his New York childhood, caught between his hilariously eccentric but indomitable grandmother and his mother. His grandmother’s influence shapes him as both a person and an artist, but as he traces the family’s relationships, he uncovers their secrets, revealing thirty years of family fights, monstrous behaviour, enormous cruelty and enduring love.
Renee – Suzanne Bertish
Ellen – Anna Francolini
Joshua – Ryan Kopel
Writer – Joshua Harmon
Director – Josh Seymour
Designer – Sarah Beaton
Lighting Designer – Joshua Gadsby
Sound Designer – Lex Kosanke
Movement Director – Ingrid Mackinnon
Fight Director – Bethan Clark
Dialect Coach – Aundrea Fudge
Voice Coach – Tess Dignan
Assistant Director – Josh Stainer
WE HAD A WORLD
Hampstead Theatre
29 May to 4 July 2026
