Perseverance Drive – Bush Theatre – 02/08/2014

Goodness is not a competition.

Robin Soanes had a plan for a play in the back of his mind and it coalesced after he met a young man whose family had been divided by its religious convictions. He was disturbed by the way in which pride and prejudice can turn something that ought to be a force for reconciliation into something divisive, and can fracture families almost beyond repair.

Eli Gillard is preparing himself for the funeral of his wife Grace. He lives in Leytonstone, but he and his family are gathering together at their other home in Perseverance Drive, Barbados. The whole family are steeped in the traditions of the Pentecostal Church and you’d expect this to bring them together, especially at a time like this, but we soon learn that things are not as simple as all that.

Eli’s eldest son Nathan is a minister in the Church and is dictating the arrangements, with the help of his wife Ruth. When the youngest son Zek arrives with his wife Joylene we begin to feel the first signs of unease. They have started their own Church and there is clearly some enmity in the air. Next on the scene are Bishop Marvin Clarke and his pastor son Errol (a former art student of Ruth’s), at whose church the service will take place. Last to arrive is the middle son Joshua, but what is it that Josh has done that raises everyone’s eyebrows just to see him here?

Zek and Joylene should be grateful just to attend the funeral, because they’re living in sin. Josh is a backslider too, because although he’s no longer living with “that man” his lifestyle still doesn’t meet the criteria for acceptance.

As the preparations continue we can see that this is not going to be the funeral that any of them want and the tension build to a breathtaking climax during the funeral itself, which brings the first act to a dramatic close and leaves the audience stunned in our seats.

Four years pass during the 15 minutes of the interval and the location is now Eli’s flat in Leytonstone. Eli’s health is failing and he is mentally preparing himself to join his wife. He is here to be nearer to his family but Nathan, Ruth, Zek and Joylene are all so busy doing good work in their respective churches that they have little time spare to provide the support he needs. Only Josh troubles himself to come round and help his dad with his bandages and ointments and make sure he is eating properly. The trouble is that the rest of the family, especially the self-righteous, bible-quoting Joylene, find it inappropriate for the “pervert” of the family to be caring for their father. They would prefer a sister of mercy to visit and care for him, and at any rate they think he should really be concentrating his mind on thoughts of his ascension.

Further accusations, and a game of one-upmanship, lead to Eli declaring that it is Josh who has taught him that goodness is not a competition. Eli’s life ebbs away as the play reaches its close, leaving us with a sense of sadness tinged with optimism and an uncertainty as to whether the family will ever find the reconciliation that Grace had hoped for. Robin Soanes tells us that he is fascinated by situations where everyone has a different point of view and none of them can be thought of as actually wrong – sometimes each individual’s rightness clashes against the others and what transpires is one big mess.

Soanes’s writing is spectacular and Bush artistic director Madani Younis has choreographed the performances from his tremendous cast to every last detail. Eli is played by Leo Wringer, with Derek Ezenagu as Nathan, Frances Ashman as Ruth, Clint Dyer (Josh), Kolade Agboke (Zek), Akiya Henry (Joylene), Ray Shell (Bishop Marvin) and Lloyd Everitt (Erroll). I refuse to single out any of them as they are all outstanding.

Jaimie Todd’s nicely distressed set sits traverse-style on the Bush stage, with the audience feeling almost as voyeurs, spying into each side of a room that serves as both Barbados and London homes and effecting a striking transformation into the chapel at the end of act one.

Perseverance Drive is a powerful, painful and sometimes hilarious study of a family broken apart by conflicting loyalties and standards, and it is hard to imagine a more effective or inventive staging than this premiere production which is another hit for the Bush. It plays until Saturday 16th August.

Jumpers for Goalposts – Bush Theatre – 14/12/2013

“It’s a pull, Luke”

Pub licensee Viv has lost her sister and is throwing all her energies into her pub five-a-side team. Well it gives her something to focus on and a way of getting her brother in law Joe to get back in circulation. OK – being the token straight in a gay football team isn’t the obvious answer to his gloom but it gets him out – even if he can’t play. With Joe’s busker housemate Beardy Geoff and Danny, who can get the local sport centre for nothing as long as he cleans up, because of his course, that makes a team, almost. Luckily along comes Luke, who has seen the poster Danny put up in the library – what can possibly go wrong?

At least the team’s name, Barely Athletic, sums up their abilities on the pitch, which lead one well-wisher to suggest that Viv might like to try badminton. They’re never going to beat Lesbian Rovers, Man City are too good for them too but surely they can beat Tranny United – especially when they play in heels...

Successive scenes see the team in the changing room after the matches, picking over the bones of what went wrong and more besides, as the background to each character is filled in for us and they aim for their own individual goals. Mention must go to James Alexander Gordon, who recorded the score announcements that introduce each scene.

Viv tries to persuade Joe to get out more, while he struggles to get her to reflect on her loss rather than pushing the memories to the back of her mind.

Beardy Geoff has dreams beyond busking in Marks and Spencer’s doorway – his sights are set on the main stage at Hull Pride and he brings out his trust guitar to try out a succession of unlikely tunes. He acknowledges that “Go West” is a classic but when Hull is east it seems a bit off message.

But why did Danny only put one poster up, and in the library at that? Could it have anything to do with the fact that he had his eye on Luke who works there and if so why doesn’t he just say something – how hard can that be? And will Luke ever manage to overcome his overwhelming shyness and admit that he fancies Danny too?

The five-strong cast are directed here in superb ensemble by James Grieve in a one-acter that is full of beautifully stylish, witty, touching and above all real dialogue by Tom Wells. Every one of them give striking performances. Vivienne Gibbs’s Viv has stubborn determination, Matt Sutton’s Joe is full of gentle charm and Andy Rush’s Geoff is both engaging and extremely funny.

Ultimately it is the dynamic between Philip Duguid-McQuillan’s Luke and Jamie Samuel’s Danny that carries the emotional heart of the whole tale. It becomes pretty clear early on what the secret is that Danny finds so hard to talk about, but the fact that we find ourselves in on it before he reveals the truth to Luke has our hearts in our mouths as he tries to say the words. We can understand Luke’s reaction, given his character, and equally feel for Danny’s desperate response, but I for one was hard pressed not to cry out from my seat to them to wait and talk it through.

Philip Duguid-McQuillan delivers Luke’s dialogue with incredible flair – the hesitations and finely measured clumsiness are played to perfection and his Luke simply cries out for a huge hug. Jamie Samuel gives a pitch-perfect portrayal of someone who is outwardly confident but has a heck of a lot of insecurities under the surface. It would be a hard hearted person who could fail to fall for Danny - or to give him a second chance.
Re-reading the text after the show, I found the tears coming again as I reached Luke’s final diary speech.

This is really beautiful writing that is able to make us laugh and tug hard on our heart strings throughout, and it had me leaving the theatre with a huge smile on my face. Had I been able to obtain a ticket I would have returned on the Monday before my long weekend in London ended, but it was deservedly a sell out once again.

Jumpers for Goalposts opened at Watford Palace in April and has toured before arriving at the Bush Theatre, where it is playing until 4th January 2014.

This is the first time I have been to the Bush Theatre since their relocation to new premises in 2011. The way they have used the space in the former Shepherds Bush Library makes for a theatre with great warmth and a really friendly bohemian charm. The flexible performance space is an idea size and the bar and lounge areas (at present infused with the smell of mulled wine) are the sort of place you could while away some very happy hours. My thanks go to the Bush team for the warm welcome and for a great evening.