King’s Head Theatre 15-30 January. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Set on one hot day in 1960s Indiana, Paul Minx’s play revisits familiar themes of racial inequality and dysfunctional families, but does so with style.
The characters are basic stereotypes – the teenage daughter, spoiled rotten and used to manipulating every man she meets (Lydea Perkins – coquettish and so convincingly brattish you want to give her as slap); the alcoholic mother (Imogen Stubbs – simply amazing. There should be a new award for best drunk acting. Showing no vanity, with makeup becoming more and more panda-like, Stubbs stumbles around the stage and makes you feel increasingly guilty for laughing at her character); the brutish father (Michael Brandon – brilliantly switching from clownish dad to menacing master in an instant, and drawing audible gasps from the audience); and their “help”, noble, bible-quoting Andre (Cornelius Macarthy – effortlessly portraying Andre’s constant struggle to keep calm and dignified) and his outspoken girlfriend Grace (Krissi Bohn – all flaring nostrils and barely concealed anger at the world).
Andre and Grace want to collect their wages and leave to drive to Alabama to join the civil rights movement and start a new life with Andre’s daughter, but young Ivy doesn’t want Andre to leave, and will try anything to keep him there. Throughout the day, secrets from everyone’s past are revealed, leading to tense confrontations and a downbeat but wholly satisfying conclusion
We have seen these themes and characters many times before, but Minx manages to keep the story interesting with his sharp and witty writing, and the wonderful cast give committed and memorable performances. This play will make you angry, make you squirm (Ivy and her daddy – just wrong), but most of all, it will make you laugh.