It is tempting to call The Forest a puzzle – but to do so would be to imply that the pieces fit together. Florian Zeller’s compelling but befuddling play is full of shifting identities, repeated and mutating scenes, and an increasingly deranged amount of flowers. It all adds up to a strange and unsteady whole. A somewhat unsatisfying one, too.
Unusually, this Hampstead Theatre production is the world premiere of The Forest, despite the fact it was written in French and translated into English by Christopher Hampton. Pierre, played by Toby Stephens, is a celebrated surgeon married to Laurence, played by Gina McKee. Or perhaps I should say that Pierre, played by Paul McGann, is a celebrated surgeon married to Laurence, played by Gina McKee. Nothing is ever the same twice; though some characters are named in the play, in the cast list they are referred to as “Man 1”, “The Wife”, “Male Friend”.
