We Had a World – Hampstead Theatre

Joshua Harmon’s We Had a World arrives Downstairs at Hampstead Theatre following a critically acclaimed debut in New York last year. The young playwright is a Juilliard graduate who scandalised Manhattan with his first play Bad Jews.  He also co-wrote a musical with Sarah Silverman and his last play, Prayer for the French Republic was nominated for Tony. While Harmon is the award-winning toast of New York, he’s less familiar to London crowds. It’s a minor coup for Hampstead Theatre to present this show in a studio space normally reserved for emerging new writers. It’s a small space for a playwright who’s a big deal.

We had a World is a semi-autobiographical analysis of family conflict and how it filters through different generations. The play opens with Joshua (Ryan Copel) addressing the audience to tell them how his grandmother not only gave him permission to write the play but encouraged him to make it “as bitter and vitriolic as possible”. As Joshua introduces himself, his mother Ellen (Anna Francolini) and Grandmother Rennee (Suzanne Bertish) interject with observations. There are references to his other plays and the writing process, with nods to the work of other playwrights such as Edward Albee and Tennessee Williams. This is metatheatre, Mary.

The concept of charming grandparents who were awful parents is reasonably universal, as is sibling rivalry and addiction issues. These are curses that blight many families, so while this middle-class New York Jewish drama is quite personal and unique, generational resentment and dysfunction are present in most homes. As an audience, it’s often to fun to watch a fictional family rip itself apart, purely for the vicarious pleasure and relief at NOT being a participant.

The cast are all excellent. Suzanne Bertish is utterly compelling as the bohemian grandmother who introduces the young Joshua to art and culture. These endeavours help shape the creative success he later became, that he is today. The ‘education’ she bestows is hilariously cavalier and includes age-inappropriate movies and a Mapplethorpe exhibition. “I was nine, I didn’t yet have a grasp on the concept of fisting,” Josh explains to the audience.

Renee is an unconventional, provocative bon vivant. Joshua adores his grandmother.  which frustrates and riles his mother. In her performance, Francolini manages the delicate nuances of being an uptight lawyer, protective mother and the recovering child of a neglectful parent. Eventually, her tight-lipped tolerance snaps and she dishes the dirt on her alcoholic and abusive mother to a gobsmacked Joshua. Ellen’s prior diplomacy with regards to Rennee finishes when her mother turns up drunk to one of Joshua’s school plays.  

Bertish does such a fabulous job of making Rennee a colourful, rebel granny that it’s hard to judge her, even when we learn, via Ellen, that she was a selfish, toxic and appalling parent. Joshua gets a few glimpses of her cruel narcissism towards the end of his grandmother’s life, but for much of the play, it’s hard to understand Ellen’s supressed rage. The trauma triangle of We Had a World is less about differing perspectives of the same event and more about the consequences of incomplete narratives with regard to family history. Ellen protects her son’s relationship with his grandmother, but at a great cost to herself. Eventually, the house of cards collapses, leading to ugly showdowns and the opening of unhealed wounds.

Tight direction by Josh Seymour ensures there’s barely a dip in the 100-minute show that whips along with no interval. Sarah Beaton’s Design is minimal, modern and almost imperceptible, like one of the New York galleries frequented by Rennee and her awestruck grandchild. It’s a highly entertaining ride, largely thanks to three actors who nail the assignment with gripping performances. The metadramatic cleverness of the piece may bear some responsibility for a lack in emotional connection to the characters. Breaking that fourth wall is an impressive modernist flourish but seems to keep the audience at a sometimes wary distance. You might not be triggered or shed a tear, but it’s still a great night at the theatre.

We Had a World is at Hampstead Theatre until 4th July 2026

Hampstead Theatre | London

Reviewer: Stewart Who?

Reviewed: 9th June 2026
North West End UK Rating: