Grief, guilt & hope in gripping play about a school shooting

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Two couples meet six years after a mass school shooting in the USA that left both their teenage sons dead. In this gripping play about grief, parental love, anger and forgiveness, there are depths of emotion in Fran Kranz‘s Mass that are hard for those of us watching to take. There were moments when I felt I couldn’t breathe. I don’t think I have never been among an audience so quiet.

The production is an extraordinary coming together of script, direction, design and acting. First, the cast. There are some actors so magnetic that they dominate a play with their star quality. Then there are actors- sometimes called character actors- who are so good at immersing themselves in a role that they become one among equals. That’s not to say that the main actors in Mass can’t lead a play- they can and have- but what is valuable about them in an ensemble play like this is that they don’t bring baggage. And that enables you yourself to become immersed in what seems like a real conversation told verbatim.

A couple who lost their son are meeting the couple whose son was the shooter and who killed himself. Jay and Gail, parents of their murdered boy Evan, bring grief and anger to the round table and confront the parents of the killer. Inevitable questions are asked: did they not realise their son was a potential killer, couldn’t they have done something to prevent it? In response, Richard and Linda express their sorrow, their incomprehension at how their son Hayden became a killer, and their own guilty grief at his loss.

Adeel Akhtar‘s Jay is clearly a civilised, liberal man- he offers water and worries about recycling- but at times cannot control the animosity he feels. Lyndsey Marshal‘s Gail is an empty shell. Paul Hilton‘s Richard is stiff and defensive but has a downcast face, racked with sorrow. Monica Dolan‘s Linda is so upset at what became of her little boy that her tears seem wrenched from deep inside her. Both mothers are especially moving when they remember their sons as young children.

You can’t look away from this impeccable production

It is essential to maintaining the tension that there is no break in continuity in Carrie Cracknell‘s impeccable production, so the participants remain seated for nearly the whole exchange. That’s rare in itself because so many directors seem to make the actors walk up and down just to keep it interesting. Consequently, to avoid us having to look at the back of someone’s head the whole time, there is a revolve that moves imperceptibly but turns them round regularly so we get to see all their faces, and you can’t look away from all the pain they are expressing.

The play is set in the meeting room of a church, ironically a soulless piece of modern architecture with lots of glass and light but no human touch. This is expertly conjured by designer Anna Yates, who shows us the mundane kitchen and corridors and stairs outside the room. As if to emphasise the way something extraordinary can happen in the middle of something quite everyday, at the start and end of the play, the room is set up and cleared by other characters played by Rochelle Rose, Amari Bacchus and Susie Trayling.

This is not a play of despair. Yes, Fran Kranz, who made the 2021 film on which this is based, examines reactions to tragedy, but he also explores the concept of restorative justice. This is where the play takes on a greater dimension. We may not live in the USA- mass killings are far less common here in the UK. They do happen nevertheless. But we are also part of a world in which war and terrorism breed more of the same. And at an individual level, people cope with the results of knife attacks, dangerous driving and more. Loss leaves people seeking retribution, but the resultant resentment and revenge can destroy us. Reconciliation, where the perpetrators admit their guilt and the victims forgive, offers hope that, instead of being consumed by grief, the parents can live alongside it. There is no sense that this is an easy or a complete answer but the understanding the couples gain about each other in the course of the play offers the prospect of peace.

This is an important play. Fran Kranz, Carrie Cracknell and the extraordinary cast of Mass have given us an insight into the anguish of loss and the possibility of hope. The characters may be made up, but the tears we shed at the end are real.

Mass can be seen at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London until 6 June 2026. Tickets from https://www.donmarwarehouse.com/
Paul paid for his ticket.

Click here to watch the video of this review on the YouTube channel Theatre Reviews With Paul Seven