Review: THE SH*T, Bush Theatre

Young people all over the country are fighting an enduring battle against circumstances they aren't equipped to change themselves. Created following a meticulous research into the dedication of youth workers in Leeds and London, The Sh*t highlights the efforts spent to keep the youth out of the grave .

The Working Party Theatre Company craft an intense play that cuts to the chase and pinpoints exactly where the system is failing. Every week Eric (Lladel Bryant) meets Daniel (Dillon Scott-Lewis) to talk after his release from juvenile detention. With every session they jump on a rollercoaster that sees Daniel slipping out of his hands one day and returning a prodigal son the next.

Eric doesn't lose hope, and when it comes down to giving his all to protect the boy, he doesn't flinch. But life - and the public sector - doesn't work that way. Written by Kenny Emson, the piece is eye-opening. Jarring, but with a sarcastically humorous rhythm, it presents a structure built on statistics rather than humanity.

Scott-Lewis is brazen with Daniel's hostility. He starts with a character who's angry at himself, Eric, and the system and slowly peels layer after layer to uncover a boy who was abandoned by the world and left to fend for himself and slipped through the cracks. Bryant, on the other hand, is the ever-patient counsellor whose buttons aren't easily pushed.

When Daniel gets under Eric's skin, however, he meets him at a level he understands. Emson revels in language, writing dialogues where slang feels right at home next to deeper conversation set up seamlessly to raise awareness of a grim situation. The exchanges are natural and the precarious connection between the two develops delicately.

They get up in each other's faces, have long staring matches, and squabble while their relationship grows. The Sh*t was never going to have a fairy tale ending with cutbacks to funding, reduction of the workforce, and a vicious circle of unfavourable protocols as its villains.

Director Alexander Ferris places his actors on a jet black set (designed by Caitlin Mawhinney) under a lopsided neon halo. A pile of plastic chairs looms at the back, a visual allegory for the tumult in Daniel's life but also a memorial for the increasing number of lives that keep being lost.

"Youth work is medicine for a failed society" writes Emson. It's an effective play. A few people in power should take a trip to the Bush to have their eyes opened.

The Sh*t runs at the Bush Theatre until 23 April as part of Essex on Stage.

Photo credit: Ant Robling

To post a comment, you must register and login.