‘I’m glad my mum died,’ says Kerry Jackson to her black chef Athena as she walks on stage and elicits subdued shock from the audience. But this was about the practical side of this working-class Essex girl, not a hateful mother-daughter relationship because she was able to sell the flat Mum bought off the council and fulfil her dream of opening a Spanish restaurant in Walthamstow Village, writes Michael Holland.
The dream, though, would soon become a nightmare as she battles with homeless Will ‘stinking and drinking, who uses her side alley as his toilet; warring with lecturer of psychology Stephen and his daughter Alice struggling to move on from the death of his wife and her mother; and ex-cop Warren, who has seen it all and always knows a man who can let you see it all again – for a price – and who fancies his chances with Kerry.
Stephen and Alice have pretty much locked themselves away to dwell on their grief while each vies to be the saddest. The new restaurant, however, gives them an opportunity to venture out, but his first trip there was to moan that the shop El Barco replaced was gone and he had to buy his cat food elsewhere. Then he refuses to help her get rid of the begging and defecating Will from outside her establishment.
She’s a Leave-voting right-winger, and Stephen and Alice are not, but Kerry is also a businesswoman and continually tries to be nice and move forward with them to get their custom but the class and political differences make it very difficult. Add to the tension Athena repeatedly warning Kerry that the books are not looking good and El Barco is not making money, plus Kerry and Stephen starting an opposites-attract affair! What could go wrong?
Well, just about everything in this funny play is filled with stereotypes: Working-class Kerry gets racist with Athena as the business falls deeper into trouble, while educated Stephen becomes condescending with Kerry to end the relationship, Alice falls out with her father for ‘disauthenticating’ her, and Will’s mental health problems show a threatening, dark side, so no surprises there.
April De Angelis’s play Kerry Jackson does well to put a working-class woman with no filter at the centre of the work, in an industry run by the middle-class, which is an excellent start to pose the problems between Left and Right, Leave and Remain, while also holding up White Privilege and Classism for debate. Too much? Not really, because this production will not change anyone’s opinions other than thinking Fay Ripley did a marvellous job of bringing Kerry to life.
National Theatre, South Bank SE1 9PX until January 28th. Admission: £10 – £65
Booking: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/
