Synopsis

In a stark hospital waiting room, Man and Child sit frozen in time, their relationship as fragile as a soap bubble about to burst. Mike Bartlett’s “My Child” is a searing exploration of fatherhood, masculinity, and the brutal realities of divorce, where every word becomes a weapon in the battle for a child’s affection.

As the play unfolds, we watch Man desperately cling to the last threads of his paternal identity, while Child, caught in the crossfire of warring parents, wields a cruelty that only the young can muster. “You’re not my dad anyway,” the child spits, each syllable a dagger to Man’s heart. Bartlett’s dialogue crackles with tension, exposing the raw nerves of a family torn apart.

The claustrophobic setting becomes a pressure cooker, forcing Man to confront his failures as both a husband and father. His ex-wife’s new partner, Karl, looms large as a symbol of everything Man is not – strong, successful, and most devastatingly, present in Child’s life. As Man grasps at straws to maintain his connection, we see the painful unravelling of his masculine identity.

My Child is a masterclass in emotional brutality, where even moments of tenderness are tinged with desperation. Bartlett strips away the niceties of polite society to reveal the primal struggle at the heart of family dynamics. As the play hurtles towards its gut-wrenching conclusion, we’re left to question the very nature of fatherhood and the devastating consequences of a society that equates masculinity with success and dominance.