A Number

Human cloning is the subject of this beguiling hour-long psychological thriller that blends topical scientific speculation with a stunning portrait of the relationship between fathers and their sons. In A Number Caryl Churchill examines the past, present, and future of a family in five visits by the son and clones of Salter.

Salter is a determined man in his retirement years living a quiet hermitic life. Then, out of nowhere, these visits by his son, Bernard, and his clones begin a downward spiral. When forced to confront the truth about the choices he made 30 years ago, Salter tries to redeem his morality. The horrible treatment of Bernard, the successful life of Bernard’s clone, and the number of others created in a twisted medical experiment, are the reality that Salter has kept hidden for too long. What Salter camouflages as medical malpractice is, in fact, begun with him and ended by the very thing he wanted to keep.