Why would any young man with his whole life ahead of him not want to get out of prison? That’s the question at the heart of Samuel Bailey’s remarkably accomplished debut play, which was the winner of this year’s Papatango New Writing Prize.
Set in a young offender’s institution, three teenage boys trade sweets in a room with no sunlight. Riyad (Ivan Oyik) wants to get his maths GCSE done without his girlfriend telling him that their star signs make them incompatible, Cain (Josh Finan) is a ball of chaos who talks a hundred miles per hour and Jonjo (Josef Davies) a reticent ball of anxiety who misses his dog.
Jasmine Swan’s claustrophobic set traps the trio in a classroom together; a metal door implies that it’s not just placid times tables that go on here. A new teacher, Grace (Andrea Hall), is preparing them for life on the outside, although the focus isn’t rehabilitation, but preparation for another future: as recent or expectant fathers, they are learning how to change nappies. There’s a sense of bewilderment about the entire exercise, explained in part by the fact that none of them have a blueprint: they all come from families without fathers.
George Turvey’s excellent production offers a nagging feeling that things could explode at any moment, while never losing sight of how young the boys are. There’s always a sense of foreboding - moments of minor embarrassment escalate quickly into explosive anger. In a fantastic cast, Finan stands out, veering between bravado and naivety like a coiled spring bouncing down a set of stairs. Occasionally the claustrophobic setting can feel limiting; we don’t get much insight into the relationships that led to their impending fatherhood. Given their (understandably) immature attitude to sex, it left me wondering.
But I am already excited about Bailey’s next play (no pressure). With this nuanced, sensitive and funny portrait of the complicated relationship between masculinity and trauma, there’s a palpable sense that he’s a major talent to be reckoned with.
Until November 23; southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
