Last Updated on February 11, 2022
Caryl Churchill’s A Number is now playing at The Old Vic
Have you ever thought about the ethics of human cloning? Caryl Churchill’s A Number brings the issue to life in a dystopian future where a father and a son deal with the ramifications of unauthorized cloning.
Credit: Manuel Harlan
The play opens with Salter, played by Lennie James, trying to emotionally comfort his “son” Bernard, depicted by Paapa Essiedu, through his impending identity crisis after he finds out that he is a clone and that there are many other clones like him. A variety of emotions grip the pair and energetically ripples through to the audience, as they both struggle through finding a way forward with the fact that there are unauthorized clones out there. Bernard demands to know how the cloning got out of hand, and who is the “original”, feeling very confused about his identity and if he is himself or a copy of another person. Salter is unwavering in his belief that no one else can replace Bernard, and even if others exist, they are completely different to him.
The all red Scandinavian living space set seems very eerie and futuristic to the audience, but this doesn’t seem to bother the characters. Designed by Es Devlin, it seems to complement the feelings of confusion, anger and frustration being bounced around between the duo.
Credit: Manuel Harlan
Salter adamantly claims that Bernard is his “son” and that the others do not matter to him, but when that doesn’t seem to convince Bernard, Salter tries to change the topic. He proposes they can sue the scientists and potentially get millions of dollars for the theft of his identity, which results in a briefly comical exchange. Bernard doesn’t seem satisfied with a monetary solution to this problem though, and Salter eventually reveals that he had Bernard cloned because the mother and son died in a car accident. Bernard asks if the “original” has the same name as him, and when Salter asks if it makes it worse, Bernard replies that it kinda does.
Credit: Manuel Harlan
The stage goes black save for an extremely bright flashing light border designed by Tim Lutkin that shocks the audience’s pupils before transitioning to a scene where Salter is now confronting his “original” Bernard. This version, still played by Paapa Essiedu, is angry, but at what exactly? In the ensuing conversation, the audience learns that he felt neglected as a child when he called out to his dad at night to no answer. Salter doesn’t hesitate to say that he must have not heard him, and loved him anyway. We also discover that Bernard is potentially jealous that his father cloned him, and chose the other “son” over him. Paapa Essiedu’s performance in this scene is so emotionally intense, with mannerisms and personality dramatically altered to fit into this character, that it was hard not to empathize with his anger.
Credit: Manuel Harlan
Later on, Salter learns of Bernard’s encounter with the “original” and is heartbroken over the fact that Bernard is fleeing the country because his life is threatened by the “original”. We also learn that Salter lied to Bernard about the car crash. What really happened was Salter’s wife committed suicide by jumping onto the tube tracks and he subsequently had difficulties raising the “original”. The cloned Bernard was Salter’s second shot at getting parenting right.
Credit: Manuel Harlan
It turns out that Salter didn’t get parenting right in the end as what happens next proves to be a tragedy. A broken Salter then meets with Michael Black, again depicted by Paapa Essiedu, one of the clones, and is visibly yearning to form a personal connection. However, Michael seems to be perfectly happy with his life, and thinks that having 18 other clones around is “funny”. Paapa Essiedu completely nails this character with an American accent, wig and rose-tinted glasses outlook on life which almost seems too good to be true. Meanwhile, Lennie James seems to embody every single audience member in wondering, how could one be so happy and unbothered when part of his identity has been tampered with?
The play definitely ends on a thought-provoking note. What comprises one’s identity? Can one truly be happy if their DNA has been copied? As Michael Black said, 30% of our DNA is shared with lettuce. What do you make of that?
The Old Vic
Until 19 Mar 2022
Tickets: £10–£65 (premium and VIP available)
Audio Described: Fri 18 Feb, 7.30pm (Touch Tour 5pm)
Captioned: Mon 21 Feb, 7.30pm
Leave a Reply