Review: I'M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD, Finborough Theatre

Following an acclaimed premiere Off-Broadway in 2015, I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard sees its UK debut at the Finborough Theatre directed by Jake Smith. Exploring the depths of a peculiar father-daughter relationship, Halley Feiffer gives her audiences an unsettling and eye-opening peek into the lives of Ella (Jill Winternitz) and her father David (Adrian Lukis).

Ella is a young actress with stars in her eyes who bears the unfortunate burden of being the daughter of a famous writer and living in his shadow. A great playwright but a lesser man, Adrian Lukis's David smothers and psychologically abuses her, spurring the audience to wonder whether she's really following her dream or merely walking the path her father laid for her, and where he wants to see her shine.

The rough, patriarchal, self-centred, elitist David starts spitting venom from the very start of the play, letting Ella know he believes she's just not good enough to be a star. Her show is a rave - as the critics say - but she is not, deserving just a mention in brackets.

Unlike her character, Winternitz is outstanding in the part and goes from an overacting twentysomething girl just begging for a reaction from her father, whom she loves beyond words and whose opinion means more than anything, to a young woman who is merely the product of her upbringing. In the second scene of Feiffer's work she's become ruthless and merciless, just like her father had been before a stroke turned his life around.

She is his creation, his puppet, and the moment when she is not willing to act out what he pictures in his mind, his reaction is frightening and disturbing. The spitefulness David exudes during the whole first scene - which Lukis dominates masterfully - comes back in the second in the voice and movements of Ella, proving that she is his greatest creation.

I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard is potentially grim viewing for every parent and future parent. "I love you," repeats Ella multiple times, trying to get something other than the "I know" her father is willing to give her.

Smith ably directs a thought-provoking piece that acts as a catalyst for a larger reflection on family and the influential role parents should or should not play in their children's lives. Together with Anna Reid's excellent set and Jack Weir's lighting, it's insightful, sometimes uncomfortably relatable theatre.

I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard at Finborough Theatre until 25 March

Photo Credit: Scott Rylander

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