What quiet, splintering performances. Starting as a light-hearted portrait of a charming family, this 1978 play devolves into a deeply felt character study of three individuals pulling unhappily in different directions. Written by German playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz and translated by Estella Schmid and Anthony Vivis, this production of Tom Fool is a gentle exploration of the way money wriggles its way into the existing rifts of everyday life, adding pressure until they crack.
At the head of the family is aggravating Otto, a car mechanic played with a remarkable elasticity by Michael Shaeffer, at once utterly proud and deeply unhappy in himself. Putting up with him is Anna Francolini’s unrufflable Martha, longing to find a life beyond housework and orders. Lounging around them is son Ludwig (Jonah Rzeskiewicz), desperate to forge his own path.
