As soon as you enter the refurbished Old Vic it is very clear that there is a new regime in charge. The lobby looks freshly painted and the stark new post-modern lighting provides a subliminal message that the new artistic director, Mathew Warchus, is on a mission to make this venue cutting edge. This is particularly evident in his brave choice to start his tenure with a world premiere, Future Conditional, written by Tamsin Oglesby exploring the state of education today in England.It is therefore unfortunate to report that the play, which is full of good intention, fails to achieve top marks.
Rather than having one storyline Oglesby has structured the play as a series of unconnected vignettes. These include a group of mothers in a primary playground, a government education committee, an Oxford interview session and an inspirational teacher in his classroom. The result is that the evening comes across more like a comedy sketch than a serious play. Oglesby make matters even worse by writing broad, stereotypical characters. These include the pushy yummy mummy, the council flat mom, the smart Asian student, the privileged Etonian and the racially insensitive Oxford tutor.
Throughout the play the characters all shout their opinions (there is a lot of arguing and even some throwing of biscuits) but Oglesby fails to effectively dramatise these arguments resulting in a didactic evening devoid of subtlety.
Warchus has kept the Old Vic as an in-the-round formation, staging the piece smoothly and he has elicited some strong, energetic performances from a young cast who are required to play characters much older than themselves. As the only adult actor in the play, Rob Brydon brings a lovely warmth and sincerity to his portrayal of a caring and dedicated teacher.
While it is clear that Oglesby is passionately concerned about the state of education today and has strong views on how it might be improved, it is a shame that she was not able to find a strong narrative for these ideas rather than writing a play that ends up coming across like a well researched Guardian article.
Welcome home ‘Kinky Boots’. The 2013 Tony Award winning Best Musical has landed in the United Kingdom and has definitely benefited from the journey home. When I first saw this show, which is set in Northampton, in previews on Broadway, and then again recently in Toronto with the Canadian cast, I couldn’t help but feel that a certain Britishness was lacking in both productions...