Juniper Blood

Mike Bartlett is back and, even if this appears a much more homely prospect than his earlier works, there’s plenty to dig into here. Quite literally.

This is after all the man who gave us his modern take on Medea in the acclaimed TV series Doctor Foster, took aim at the monarchy in Charles III, paired Jonathan Bailey and Taron Egerton in gay infidelity drama Cock and eerily predicted aspects of the last US election (using blank verse no less) in The 47th.

For Juniper Blood, he sets up a five-way battle for the heart and future of England’s countryside. Middle-class urbanite Ruth (Hattie Morahan) has plunged much of her cash into a West Country rural project she has taken on with her son-of-the-soil partner Lip (Sam Troughton). She wants a modern forward-looking farm, he wants to rewild everything in sight.

Ruth has invited her ex’s daughter (Nadia Parkes) and her boyfriend (Terique Jarrett) who also have their own opinions: Milly doesn’t care for the smelly Lip or the country lifestyle while Femi - who is about to embark on an agriculture-related degree at Oxford - has utopian views on how farms should be run. Rounding out the group is the neighbouring farmer Tony (Jonathan Slinger) who has made a tidy sum by being as anti-organic as possible and spraying all his crops with artificial fertiliser at every opportunity.

It’s a play that is happy to take its time and, with its luxurious length of almost three hours, our time too. Bartlett is more than happy to show us all sides of these characters, giving some a surprising arc while letting others reach their natural conclusions. Ruth’s pregnancy sees a re-ordering of her priorities: Lip and the farm are now secondary to the daughter she will have. Lip meanwhile sees this as an opportunity to dig deeper into his beliefs, rejecting science, medicines and chemicals not just for the land and animals he is in charge of but for his impending child. Meanwhile, the smarmy Tony declares his love for the conflicted Ruth — or, at least, his undying lust – as Milly falls head over heels for Lip’s vision (if not for the man himself) and Femi has to reckon with the reality of his ideals.

James Macdonald’s direction is as taciturn as the sarcastically-named Lip, by turns somnolent, sparse and (when needed) sparky. There are a few sharp arguments but otherwise this crew waft through their scenes like Wordsworth’s clouds. After a fertile start, the air is increasingly seeded with speeches and monologues in place of real dialogue; no back and forth, just lots of forth. Between Bartlett’s script and Mcdonald’s sludgy pacing, this bogs down a fine beginning before a final twist of the knife.

There are vague pointers to state-of-the-nation themes but this is no Jerusalem or even Bartlett’s own Albion. Instead, this is a quasi-existentialist, practically horizontal dissection which peers at urban and rural lifestyles and encroaching technology through the lens of farming practices.

Juniper Blood continues at Donmar Warehouse unti 4 October.


Photo credit: Marc Brenner