Review Roundup: Ruby Thomas' THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

The U.S. premiere of The Animal Kingdom, a new play by British playwright Ruby Thomas, produced and directed by Jack Serio, just opened at the Connelly Theater Upstairs (220 E 4th St, Manhattan), where it will run through February 10, 2024. 

The cast for The Animal Kingdom includes Tony-winner David Cromer (Uncle Vanya in private loft, The Waverly Gallery, Our Town), Tasha Lawrence (A Doll's House, dir. Jamie Lloyd; The Whale), Lily McInerny (Camp Siegfried), Uly Schlesinger (This Beautiful Future, HBO Max's “Genera+ion”), and Obie-winner Calvin Leon Smith (Fat Ham, Amazon Prime's “The Underground Railroad”).

In The Animal Kingdom, Sam is struggling. Sam's family doesn't understand. But then they barely understand themselves. Now, trapped in a stuffy inpatient clinic undergoing family therapy, they must find new ways to communicate with each other. The Animal Kingdom is an observation of family dynamics told with wit and compassion that peels back the emotional layers of group therapy.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

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Rhonda Feng, New York Times: Stacey Derosier’s fast-twitch lighting effectively shuttles us between sessions. Though a fight director was enlisted for the play’s London run at the Hampstead Theater in early 2022, this production doesn’t have one, or need one; the play is more about conflicting ideas than warring bodies. Thomas is palpably interested in debate, and “The Animal Kingdom” thrusts us into a particle accelerator of questions. Is Sam gay or queer? Did his self-harm have anything to do with his parents’ divorce? Is sadness passed down along generations?

David Cote, The Observer: Apart from giving actors a workout and fragile spectators a good cry, it’s not clear what playwright Ruby Thomas (also an actor) intends to say, except that the talking cure cures. The Animal Kingdom premiered at London’s Hampstead Theatre to admiring notices. Do they not talk about mental health in England? We can’t shut up about our trauma. The cast plays it American with no appreciable loss (or gain) of cultural authenticity, given how deracinated and circumscribed this world is. From the title on down, metaphors derived from nature pepper the script. 

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