Michel Marc Bouchard’s Tom at the Farm comes to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe through the Pleasance and EICC. Delivered by Cena Brasil Internacional and director Rodrigo Portella, this is a sweaty, mud-soaked meditation on rural small-town homophobia and masculinity that transfixes thanks to its primal staging and riveting performances.
Originally premiering in 2011, Canadian playwright Bouchard’s work later gained wider international recognition through the 2013 feature film adaptation by Québécois auteur Xavier Dolan. Running at two hours, this subtitled production centres on urban advertising executive Tom, who travels to the countryside for the funeral of his boyfriend, who has died far too young. The deceased’s mother, Ágatha, is unaware of her son’s sexuality or of Tom’s existence, while his brutish brother Francis is determined to ensure that truth remains hidden.
The expansive EICC stage is adorned with pails of water, a sand-covered floor and a dangling central light – all effectively utilised by designer Aurora dos Campos to evoke a sense of rural isolation, far removed from the bustle of the city. Tomás Ribas’s lighting works in tandem with the gritty textures of mud and sand, ensuring the performers appear perpetually weathered and exhausted by the punishing Brazilian farm conditions. Particularly striking is the use of red light following the delivery of a calf, creating a stark and unsettling visual palette. This strong visual language, paired with Latin American music choices including cumbia, immerses the audience in the rural atmosphere of the setting.
Bouchard’s play simmers with slow-burning unease, fuelled by the central lie of Tom’s concealed identity. Initially immaculately dressed in a sharp black suit, Tom’s transformation into a grimy farmhand marks his descent into the primal world of his lover’s upbringing. Plagued by all-consuming grief, Tom clashes with the grotesque Francis – a repressed figure steeped in violent homophobia and ultra-masculine aggression – and their confrontations gradually reveal a homoerotic tension that simmers beneath the surface. The evolution of their relationship sees Tom assume the role of a surrogate brother, while Francis becomes a distorted stand-in for Tom’s deceased lover.
With violence and physicality at the heart of the piece, the performances – particularly Armando Babaioff as Tom and Iano Salomão as Francis – are both raw and compelling. The actors bring a punishing intensity to their roles, their bodies marked by the mud and sweat of the farm setting. Babaioff captures Tom’s unsettling psychological shift, his near-Stockholm Syndrome becoming increasingly evident as he is drawn deeper into the farm’s oppressive world. Opposite him, Salomão offers unexpected nuance to Francis, gradually revealing a sensitive, conflicted energy awakened by Tom’s presence. Their dynamic is tense, unpredictable, and difficult to look away from.
Praise should also go to Denise Del Vecchio as Ágatha, who gradually reveals a grieving mother more perceptive than she first appears. The arrival of Sara (Camila Nhary) marks a tonal shift, bringing a lighter, comedic energy to the otherwise dark proceedings. Although this moment feels slightly out of place, the production soon returns to its darker, more unsettling tone in its final chapter.
This Brazilian adaptation of Tom at the Farm is a striking and unsettling piece of theatre. Its physical intensity, rich visual palette and psychologically complex performances offer a memorable and haunting piece.
Tom at the Farm runs until August 24 at EICC Pleasance. Tickets are available here.
