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Tom at the Farm

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 5 Published: 4 Aug 2025 Pleasance at EICC Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-24 Aug 2025

Following a decade of sell-out tours and international acclaim, the multi-award-winning Brazilian adaptation of Michel Marc Bouchard's Tom at the Farm is now making its UK premiere at the EICC in a spectacular surtitled production featuring Armando Babaioff, Denise Del Vecchio, Iano Salomão and Camila Nhary. Under the striking direction of Rodrigo Portella, the quartet of impassioned actors somehow manage to fill the vast stage for two hours.

This is not merely a conflict between two men, but a malicious predator in relentless pursuit.

The multi-faceted plot revolves around Tom, a sophisticated advertising executive who travels to a remote farm to attend the funeral of his lover, who was killed in an unspecified accident. However, he is shocked to discover that his partner had hidden his sexuality from his mother – she has never even heard of Tom. In contrast, her other son, a brutal beast of a man, knows everything and will do anything to keep the truth from emerging. He sets the mood of unrelenting toxic masculinity, homophobia, psychological torment and physical violence, heightened by vivid lighting and a dramatic soundscape.

Bouchard has said that this is “one of the most beautiful and powerful productions” of his work. The stage is covered in plastic sheeting and slick with mud, in which the men roll during the play’s intense fight scenes – Tom is even drenched with buckets of water as part of the abuse he suffers. Movement across the open space reinforces the sense that this is not merely a conflict between two men, but a malicious predator in relentless pursuit of weakened prey.

Meanwhile, the mother mourns her lost son and, despite Tom’s arrival, suppresses any suspicions she might have about his sexuality, consoling herself with the belief that her son had a girlfriend. While she goes along with this at first, she increasingly challenges the brother’s deception and his grip on the household. Further power dynamics unfold as the characters clash, each played with conviction by an outstandingly accomplished cast.

The production is supported by Brazil’s Ministry of Culture, not only as a theatrical triumph but as a powerful political statement. It stands in defiance of the country’s previous right-wing government, whose time in office saw a surge in violence towards the LGBTQ+ community.

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The Blurb:

Winner of 26 International Awards. Highlight at Avignon Festival. Tom travels to a remote farm for the funeral of his lover. Blindsided to discover that his dead boyfriend's family don't know who he is, nor who he was to the deceased man. In the mud and blood of the farm, truth becomes dangerous. The international theatre event of the Fringe, this psychological thriller is a raw and gripping confrontation of the violence of patriarchy and crisis of masculinity. Seductive, volatile and fiercely political, this is award-winning theatre from Brazil. 'Bordering on the sublime.' (Journal-LaTerrasse.fr).