The Fever Syndrome at Hampstead Theatre

The Fever Syndrome tells the story of Dr Richard Myers, a giant in the medical community known for his contributions to IVF treatments. His studies have helped raise thousands of children, but that doesn’t mean he was good at parenting his own. Now dealing with the latter stages of Parkinson’s disease, Myers (Robert Lindsay) is set to receive a lifetime achievement award – and his family return to his once-decadent brownstone home near Central Park to celebrate his big day.

Following the trope of a family reunion gone wrong, The Fever Syndrome is a story about who and what defines who we are. Are we, as Myers describes, “slaves to our parents’ genes”, or is it our decisions that form who we are and where we go?

The show is, in many cases, an ensemble production – though Lindsay’s portrayal of a colossal, booming man reverting into his shell in the face of disease is particularly compelling. He is partnered nicely with Alexandra Gilbreath in the role of Myers’s overbearing third wife, Megan. Alex Waldmann gives another standout performance in the role of Thomas. Thomas is the only member of the family who isn’t an academic – a perpetually up-and-coming artist living with his boyfriend (the charming Jake Fairbrother) in Tuscon. This gives Waldmann a chance to be expressive, whereas his family is stoic, thinking with his heart, unlike his sister, Dot (editor of Science magazine), and his twin brother, Anthony (the family hero who is embroiled in a crypto-currency scam).

From the outside, the family are picture-perfect: they are wealthy, successful, and have created a lineage of prestige that will no doubt be passed onto granddaughter Lily (Nancy Allsop) one day. Yet, the facade continues to slip. Most scenes are punctuated by an argument, where fresh hurt is quickly paved over in time for another revelation – lost money, career-threatening plagiarism, a girl who just wanted to spend time with her dad.

At times, the conflicting narratives of the nine-strong cast can lead to confusion. There is a lot packed into the two-and-a-half-hour running time, and apt attention is required for fear of falling behind. Perhaps a little refining could have been done here, allowing for an exploration of familial relationships that is a little less clustered. 

However, two things make the show great. The first is its portrayal of debilitating or chronic illnesses, both in terms of Myers’s Parkinsons’s diagnosis and the suffering of his granddaughter Lily, who has an incredibly rare condition known as “Fever Syndrome”. These are explored with grace, making for a particularly poignant scene from Dot (Lisa Dillan), wherein she states, “I want to know what it’s like to parent a child who isn’t sick all the time”.

Finally, due praise must be awarded to Lizzy Clachan for the stage design; using frames and levels to create a gallery wall that offers the audience glimpses into several different rooms in the Myers family brownstone – from the office space littered with pictures of IVF babies, to the childhood bedrooms with peeling wallpapers, it’s truly something to behold – and sets the standard for the rest of the mesmerising production to follow. 

Abbie Grundy
Photo: Ellie Kurttz

The Fever Syndrome is at Hampstead Theatre from 24^th March until 30^th April 2022. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.