Theatre Review: Future Conditional

(Image: The Old Vic)

It seems that new artistic director Matthew Warchus has brought a fresh pair of eyes to the stage of The Old Vic with his direction of Tamsin Oglesby’s energetic and topical new play Future Conditional. Focused on the troubles of the British schooling system, it couldn’t be any more relevant in the light of recent changes made by the government to education. But this is no lecture on politics: whilst making the audience question issues of society and morality, Future Conditional remains a lighthearted, fun piece of theatre that will appeal to any and all who know anything about British education.

Future Conditional confronts the problems of the British education system through the characters of parents, the Education Commission and 16-year-old Pakistani refugee Alia. It forces us to ask significant questions about our society: is our schooling system fair? Do private school kids have an advantage? And most importantly, are the government’s improvements to education in the best interests of children?

With audio clips played of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Michael Gove discussing the British education system as the play opens, it is clear from the outset that this is going to be a political play. There is no aspect of British education that Oglesby leaves untouched: from the private versus state dilemma to the postcode lottery, she discusses everything, which is sure to make a few audience members shift guiltily in their seats. But whilst no stone is left unturned, the dialogue isn’t preachy, which can easily be done when discussing social issues. Oglesby has managed to create a well-rounded discussion about the system the majority of us have been in at some point or another, so everyone can identify with at least one of the issues raised. The play is formed of three main narratives: Alia’s former state school teacher Mr Crane struggling to control his class, a group of mothers in a primary school playground trying to manipulate the catchment area system to their advantage, and Alia being accepted onto the rather inept Education Commission who can’t agree on how best to make children happy at school. The oscillating between these different scenes shows the different sides of the argument and keeps the play exciting and fast-paced.

The cast is large with 23 actors and two musicians, but this only adds to the energetic feel of the performance and the characters are surprisingly well developed given the number of them. This said, there are some standout performances: namely from Lucy Briggs-Owen as yummy mummy Hettie who fears judgement for sending her son to private school and Joshua McGuire, an Old Etonian who laments the rather first world problem of being an “acceptable prejudice” in society as a private school alumnus. Rob Brydon is also strong as Mr Crane, whose performance is delivered almost entirely in monologue as he addresses imaginary children on the stage. The choice not to have any children in a play about the schooling system is a bold but extremely effective one.

Oglesby has achieved the perfect balance of politics and humour, poignancy and tension by making what could’ve been a dry or controversial subject for a play original, witty and thought provoking. There is a collective sense of pride throughout the audience as Alia tells the Education Commission, “I can succeed” – something the people in the education system should be made to feel. My only regret is that the play isn’t on for longer.

Theatre Review: The Crucible

(Image: Literature and Life)

Earlier this week I went to see a cinema screening of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, a production on at The Old Vic earlier this year. I love going to these as I quite often find out about shows that were on ages ago that I didn't get to see, so these cinema screenings mean you don't have to miss out on things. A very chilling, gruelling piece with little comic relief, The Crucible is definitely one to steel yourself for.

Written in the 1950s, The Crucible tells the partially fictionalised story of the Salem witch trials that took place in America in the late 17th century. The play opens with a panicked Reverend Parris watching over his seriously ill daughter Betty, as it is assumed that her illness has come as a result of exposure to witchcraft. Several women throughout the play are accused of witchcraft by the rather psychotic 17-year-old Abigail Williams, including Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of Abigail's ex-lover John Proctor. This, of course, makes for a very tense atmosphere for both the characters and the audience.

My initial reaction was shock about how long it was. It runs at around three and a half hours, not including the ten minute interval, so it was quite a long time for me to sit still and pay attention! That said, I did find the majority of it really gripping. There is a really powerful, dialogue-free movement sequence at the beginning of the play, all amidst a lot of smoke which sets a suitably eerie tone for the rest of the play. Samantha Colley who plays Abigail is fantastic as she is believably manipulative and unhinged whilst accusing people of witchcraft. Natalie Gavin is also really strong as a servant to the Proctors who gets caught up in the accusations of witchcraft and is torn as to where her loyalties lie. Although she has a fairly small part, I thought Sarah Niles who plays Reverend Parris' slave Tituba was brilliant and really stood out for me.

I did find in parts of it there was a bit too much shouting and not a lot of variety in the levels of speech, if that makes sense. One of the main culprits for this is the play's selling point, Richard Armitage, who plays John Proctor. I wasn't 100% sold by his performance as it becomes a little monotonous and unconvincing. As for the filming of it, it's sometimes a bit too cinematic for me, with closeups and fading in and out. Some will disagree with me on this but when I watch cinema screenings of theatre performances, I like them to be as similar to seeing the real thing as possible, with no fancy special effects or filming.

Overall, I think it's really well-put together production that remains gripping and core-chilling throughout. Definitely worth a trip! It's on for a while longer I think in lots of different locations around the world if you fancy seeing it.

Have any of you seen it?