Fences tickets

What It Feels Like

• Emotionally powerful
• Deeply human
• Thought-provoking

You’ll Love This If…

• You appreciate exceptional ensemble acting and powerhouse performances
• You enjoy complex family dramas exploring generational trauma
• You value thought-provoking theatre that resonates long after

Really excellent acting and atmosphere

Saw this show 13 years ago and even now 13 years on the importance of this story is even more important now. Its central themes of family and wanting to protect them being more important to me now more than ever.. it asks the question, if you love them can you let them go. Fences by August Wilson surrounds the Maxson family. Troy, a father who could've been a pro baseball player now spends the day as a garbage man and evenings drinking and spinning stories. Though proud of himself, he feels like the world has denied him of his dreams because of the colour of his skin. His wife Rose, sees the world as changing since Troy's times, wants the best for her sons, believes their dreams can come true. Cory just wants to play football, Lyons just wants to be a Jazz musician. But Troy's frustration and own thoughts threat to tear the family apart. Set in 1950's America along with music of the time sang and played by its cast member. This post-war portrait of human grief and love and what it takes to be a family no matter the hardship it goes through. This piece has both strong well known actors and promising up and coming talent. Its powerful performances from the entire cast rely on both separating their character from the rest of the family whilst also doing their best to be heard. Its mental health themes or both seen through mental conditions and also society issues which have lead people to think certain ways. The chemistry between Ray Fearon and Madeline Appiah is so powerful and believable as couple it really makes you feel for each of them as your opinions role on each of the characters back and forth, you understand where each parent is coming from but only want what's best for the child, the rage seems like its built up from a marriage where the wife has had to sacrifice for the husbands happiness and wants to life less scared. Simon-Anthony Roden has the most isolating and trickiest role of dealing with a role with a condition that lead this character of Gabriel to have a metal plate in is head where part of his brain is supposedly missing, he thinks he hears he'll hounds, has seen st Peter all ready and knows that his daddy and mother are safe to enter heaven when they die. Everyone in the neighbourhood thinks he should be readmitted but like the rest of the sons Troy wants to save them all himself, so they don't end up like him. When it comes to the other two brothers played by Josh Tedeku and Michael Ahomka-Lindsay it has to be said that the chemistry between these two is perfection, such brothers you'd wish to have, knowing this is Josh's professional stage debut alongside Michael's performance , you'd never know the both seem very accomplished in their work Michael adding playing the saxophone to his repertoire and Josh's youthful performance hitting its aggressive heights towards the end of the show both him and Michael's character both only want what's the best for each other but can't stand to see the truth of what's still to come for them. Fences is at Lyric Hammersmith untill 31st October 2026 then tours to Home Manchester before it's final stop at Nottingham Playhouse. Its been over ten years since this classic played so get your tickets now cause you'll hate to miss it

Excellent. Powerful. The acting was phenomenal and the energy on stage was reciprocated by the audience.