Review: RUNNING WITH LIONS, Lyric Hammersmith

First recorded in March 2021 and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, (still available on BBC Sounds) Sian Carter's new play Running With Lions is a raw and honest look at attitudes towards grief, faith and the stigma of mental health problems in a multi-generational British-Caribbean family.

We meet Gloria and her brother Josh as they eat Woolworth's pick-n-mix on a park bench and talk hopefully about their futures. We move to the present day where their mother Shirley, father Maxwell and Gloria's daughter Imani are preparing to welcome Gloria home, after she is discharged from a mental health unit. Josh has died and at first it appears that Gloria has struggled the most in coming to terms with her grief. However, it becomes clear that each family member has their own, very personal struggle, as they try to live with Gloria's illness and Josh's absence.

Velile Tshabalala is a sympathetic Gloria who shows real frustration that she feels she is the only one who misses her brother, as her parents never want to talk about him. Gloria is part of new generation who wants to discuss mental health and discard its stigma. Tshabalala is earnest in her exasperation at what she sees as her parents' closed-off attitude.

Wil Johnson is wonderful as the dapper and affable Maxwell; a lover of God and his family, he is kindly, with a mischievous glint in his eye. He is reluctant to even put a name to the mental health facility, even less to discuss his daughter's illness, but later shows real openness in a poignant scene where Josh visits him in a dream.

Suzette Llewelyn, as his wife Shirley, is more brittle, but also shows real affection for her husband and granddaughter. Both display the discomfort of the older generation in speaking openly about a pain they are used to suppressing. The suffocation that they feel is palpable from both actors, but there are also some joyful and romantic moments, such as when they dance together to a song from their wedding.

Ruby Barker, most recently seen in Netflix's Bridgerton, shows a thin veneer of confidence as Imani. Barker portrays a real vulnerability in the role, as it becomes clear that Gloria's mental health issues have meant that she has had to grow up and face some harsh realities of life at a young age. Nickcolia King-N'da is warm and gregarious as Josh, making the most of rather thin role.

There is a lot going on in the story, but there is a focus on familial relationships. The closeness and intimacy between Imani and Maxwell is particularly tender; Barker and Johnson are very believable in their touching conversations and easy physicality. The spiky unease between Shirley and Gloria is also tangible. Sian Carter's writing promotes openness as the best method of dealing with issues; there is definite negative judgment on Maxwell and Shirley's suppression of their feelings, leading to Maxwell's own illness and Shirley's disconnection from her own daughter.

The family dynamics are very realistic and the grief of the family is profound, but the character of Josh himself is somewhat underwritten. We learn he was a promising artist and hated his mother's attempts at matchmaking, but some more substance to his character would gain further empathy with the pain of the family members. However, it is refreshing to see that there is no smooth and easy ending to the story; the issues of conflict, grief and difficult family ties remain.

Overall the play feels a little too long and certain scenes feel like plodding fillers, but it is rather remarkable that this thoughtful piece is Carter's first play. It is not surprising that director Michael Buffong, who also directed the radio play, wanted to get it on stage, using Soutra Gilmour's dark and efficient set surrounded by stars. An exciting and tender debut.

Running With Lions is at the Lyric Hammersmith until 12 March

Photo Credit: Jahvin Morgan