Welsh playwright Gary Owen writes about domestic violence, consensual sex and morning after regrets. Liam is 17 and taking his “A” levels. He is a nerd and obsessed with Dr No. His mother has recently died and he’s living with his macho dad who drinks too much and is liable to be violent – hence his nickname, Vile, short for violence. Liam has a girl friend, a year older than himself. Dad urges him to have sex with her. Decent Liam is not somebody who would force himself on anybody and nor would he ever condone violence.
Since Owen calls his play Violence and Son, and director Hamish Pirie has converted The Theatre Upstairs into a miniature bull-ring, it’s not very difficult to guess what will happen. Jason Hughes and David Moorst are especially good with the tensions between father and son and there is a gripping scene when dad is in total denial over something the audience has minutes ago seen him do.