Presentation, as we know already, is all and, boy, does the Young Vic present plays in stylish high-concept productions. For this revival of Caryl Churchill’s short-sharp-shock examination of the terrible possibilities of science, and cloning in particular, Tom Scutt’s design is a triumph.
For starters, we’re allocated tickets with numbers, as if for a raffle. We’re then split accordingly into four seating sectors and the stage curtain draws back to reveal us in a mirror. It’s a wonderful riff on the themes of the play, amplified further when more mirrors reflect infinitely receding images of real-life father and son Salter (John Shrapnel) and Bernard (Lex Shrapnel).
Sixty punchy minutes, directed with vigour by Michael Longhurst, sees the unpacking of a set of Russian doll lies long peddled by Salter to Bernard. Salter had his child cloned when the infant was four, but instead of making just one copy, rogue doctors made “a number”.
Churchill chews over these meaty issues with relish — what ultimately makes us ourselves? — and Shrapnel père et fils square up impressively, the former pugnacious yet frightened and the latter shape-shifting with aplomb.
Until August 15 (020 7922 2922, youngvic.org)
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