Review: THIS MIGHT NOT BE IT, Bush Theatre

The local NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service facility has a new temp, but Jay’s bright eyes and hopeful attitude grate against Angela’s 30 years’ worth of experience. This Might Not Be It confronts the issues that plague our national health services with an excavation of their human fallout.

Between obsolete systems and outdated procedures, Jay grows quickly frustrated and breaks the rules. Angela covers up for him at first, but his actions have consequences and some of his missteps are more severe than others.

Ed Madden’s production of Sophia Chetin-Leuner’s play is lifelike and amusing, jarring and thought-provoking. Dry and harmless humour turns into a battle of bitter cynicism and young haughtiness. The success of the piece lies in the fact that neither character is right, but neither is wrong either. It’s a seesaw of belief and pride, openness to acceptance and stubbornness of ways. Debra Baker and Denzel Baidoo spar with office pleasantries and circumstantial banter, each assuming theirs is the correct approach to the job. Where Angela is reluctant to relinquish her control, Jay is arrogant in his patronisation of the older member of staff.

But it isn't just mindless bickering. Chetin-Leuner spins a web of opacity above the relatability and complexity of the roles, painting a grim picture of their working conditions. Eternal waitlists and strict procedural forms are only the physical symptoms of the NHS maladies. Angela and Jay lie at the opposite poles of the typical career path. The ambitious enthusiasm she sees in Jay has become a grey resignation for her. The state of the administration and its effects on the personnel emerge from snappy dialogues that are continuously engaging and exceptionally natural in their lateral analysis of the issues. 

Baker offers a stunning performance, delivering a woman whose life revolves around her administrative duties. Her office is ruled by a system that only she knows, which ultimately becomes a metaphor for the entire bureaucratic structure. A mention of honour must go to her customer service voice. The race for the phones that kicks off because of Jay’s eagerness has her slip into that sing-song cadence we’ve all used or heard in an astonishingly seamless manner - an exciting detail and a regular cause of laughter.

She’s matched in wit by Baidoo’s mental energy as her colleague. His character has an organic journey, starting off with an air of presumptuous cockiness and ending with a renewed sense of the field he wants to join. They fill the tiny stage with electric chemistry. Designed by Alys Whitehead, the set looks like a fully functioning workspace. If it wasn’t for the items of stationary weirdly hanging off the carpeted walls, you’d think you stepped into a real CAMHS building.

Maintaining a strong grip on reality, Madden has the pair hit a release button each time they leave the room, enhancing the feeling of oppression given by the piles of files in Angela’s organised mess. An elevated part of the set-up acts as a waiting lobby, with its leaflets and posters, contributes to this; their patient Beth (Dolly Webb) ends up towering over them, looking down on those who should be able to help her.

The piece puts into perspective the nightmarish dehumanisation that happens on both sides. Chetin-Leuner is a gifted writer with a curious and precise eye for human behaviour. She’s one to watch

This Might Not Be It runs at the Bush Theatre until 7 March.

Photo credit: Ellie Kurttz

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