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Same but indifferent: Laughing Boy @JStheatre

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Stephen Unwin's Laughing Boy, adapted for the stage from Sara Ryan's Justice for Laughing Boy, is a powerful and moving story about a mother and a family that keeps asking questions despite the victimisation and harassment from the institution - the NHS - that was supposed to protect her son. It's a moving, celebratory account of a life cut short due to indifference held together by a remarkable performance by Janie Dee as Sara. It's currently playing at the Jermyn Street Theatre .  Sara's son, Connor, is a little different to others. He is fascinated by buses and doesn't like things like loud noises. But as he becomes an adult, his seizures and unexpected outbursts mean the family turn to their local NHS for support. Little did they realise they would receive such little care from a service that was institutionally incompetent and covered up thousands of unexplained deaths of people with disabilities, including Connor's. The search for answers about why he

Outrageous Sustenance: The Return of Benjamin Lay @Finborough


The Finborough Theatre has its windows open to the world outside in The Return of Benjamin Lay. The evening sunlight fills the theatre space, and a giant tree outside the building gives you peace and tranquillity. It's as if you almost forget you are in a theatre just off the A3320 - a road known for pollution, noise and traffic congestion. Yet, recreating a Quaker meeting room for the piece also provokes the audience to reflect on how the life and times of a slavery abolitionist from the 1700s has something to say about our current times of modern slavery, prejudice and ignorance. It's currently having its world premiere at the Finborough Theatre. 


Benjamin Lay was a revolutionary slavery abolitionist who lived in the 1700s. Having witnessed first-hand the atrocities of slavery in Barbados, he campaigned against it vigorously, including kidnapping a child of enslavers so they could see how it felt. For a man ahead of his time, the Quaker community disowned him. This monologue imagines him returning to a Quaker community, recounting his life and explaining his actions. But as he begs to re-enter the society that abandoned him, he realises that his quest is different and more radical. There's a moment when he recounts that his wife tells him his anger is good-hearted but not sustenance. It feels that the piece plays between the tension of outrage and idealism throughout the ages. And for anyone told down to dial down their enthusiasm (or outrage), here’s a piece to suggest perhaps you should be dialling it up. 

The piece by Naomi Wallace and Marcus Rediker is a part history lesson and a call to action. In the title role, Mark Povinelli creates the time and place with an energetic and evocative recounting of his times and the various characters in his life. He bounds across the stage and engages with the audience. The audience participation isn't always successful and probably depends on the books they read. Thankfully I wasn't asked to confirm I was reading William Goldman's "The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway" as that would have killed the mood. However, it's a thrilling theatrical event in any case. 

Directed by Ron Daniels, the Return of Benjamin Lay is at the Finborough Theatre until 8 July. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Photos by Robert Boulton 


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