In 2008, random was a sharp retort to the stereotypical “urban” image of soaring knife crime, which Tony Blair had described as an issue “specific to black youth” and gang culture. More than a decade later, neither the violence nor the racial scapegoating have gone away. “Relevant” almost seems like too glib a word, but debbie tucker green’s depiction of a family devastated by a random stabbing still lands its blows with a heavy thud.
The power of the play is in its quiet poetry, its attention to the small things that make up both routine and tragedy. The language delicately weaves the texture of the everyday, building an image of this family through little details such as burned porridge, scruffy school uniforms and fond reprimands. It’s a normal day, a day like any other, yet there’s “su’un in the air”.
Max Johns’ set – shared with Leeds Playhouse’s current production of Kes – likewise evokes both the unremarkable and the off-kilter. Chairs upon chairs are balanced precariously at the back of the stage, their outlines familiar but dangerously tangled, looking as though they might come crashing down at any moment.
In Gbolahan Obisesan’s production, the play’s sudden shift from commonplace to catastrophic is precisely judged by performer Kiza Deen. Giving voice to all the characters – from Sister’s irritation with her colleagues to Mum’s concern that everyone gets up and fed – she switches swiftly between these distinct individuals, by just a drop of the shoulder here or a tilt of the head there. What comes to the fore, pushing aside sensationalist headlines and reporters looking for a “good urban story”, is the pain of a family processing the unthinkable.
At Leeds Playhouse until 16 February.
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