The Good Father charts the first year of the emotional rollercoaster journey of Jane (Sarah Noll) and Tim (Tony Doyle) from the moment they meet at a New Year's Eve party. The singletons find themselves alone in a room at a house party as the others congregate in the kitchen to compare notes about children. Alcohol spurs on some Dutch courage and a midnight kiss which leads to a one-night stand.
A month later they meet and Jane reveals she is pregnant to a shocked Tim who thought he was infertile. The unlikely couple continue to 'see' each other and we begin to learn more about their lives and struggles as they explore their new future together.
Writer Christian O'Reilly introduces class differences from the outset and the theme weaves its way throughout the performance. Jane is a lawyer and Tim is a painter-decorator. He's quite encouraging of her and she seems to always correct him. That's another theme that is a constant in this play, he's really likeable and relatable and we learn so much about him through his honesty, but Jane is the opposite and it felt hard to connect with her character.
Ultimately, the play's success is down to Tim, he's straight-laced and funny - what you see is what you get. Perhaps, the audience is also more empathetic with him because the script is tipped heavily in his direction.
Parts of the play are on point with highlighting the difficulties of life and relationships and it's peppered with humour in all the right places. There are some heartfelt and tender moments in The Good Father and some surprise twists.
It runs until 20 March.
Review: Sunita Jaswal