BACH & SONS

About the show

A dramatic portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach as an irascible, temperamental composer who creates music of sensuous beauty for aristocratic patrons while serving the church with devotional works. The play traces the tensions within the Bach household, where music is both family inheritance and source of conflict. His eldest son Wilhelm struggles under the weight of his father's towering genius, while Carl, less naturally gifted but more pragmatically successful, navigates his own path. As decades pass, the family engages in fierce debates about music's purpose: whether it exists to offer simple pleasure or to unveil divine order. Nina Raine's script balances sharp wit with philosophical depth, exploring how art binds people together and expresses shared humanity.