An animated take on Social Realism
Theatre group 1927 presents a funny yet thought-provoking analysis of class, British institutions, and familial structures in Please Right Back, writes Melina Block.
For the first half an hour, at least, you would be forgiven for thinking that Please Right Back – despite its unsettling opening – is going to be a fun, whimsical show.
Although the play opens with a surreal, unsettling atmosphere, with glazed-over cast members hesitantly wandering along the stalls, the mood quickly switches, and it almost feels like the start was just a strange fever dream. Eddie, or Mr. E, details in vivid letters to his children the exciting travels his unexpected business trip has taken him on, whisking the audience away on an all-singing, all-dancing adventure.
We first meet Eddie as he embarks on a top-secret mission to deliver a mysterious briefcase to the even more mysterious ‘big man’. Initial reservations surrounding the dubious nature of such a task are quickly soothed when, despite the briefcase getting stolen, Eddie appears to be having a grand old time locating its whereabouts and reporting his escapades to his kids.
One anthropomorphic lion, lime green cocktail in the Bermuda triangle, and journey down a whale’s gullet later, and the truth is revealed. Despite insisting to his children, Kim and Davey, that he is trying to make it back home in time for tea, the bleak reality of Eddie’s situation is made clear.
Humour is sensitively balanced with moments of pathos, as Kim, Davey, and their mother Dee all try to navigate life at home without Eddie. The not-so-friendly ‘friend’ who repeatedly checks in on the family, clearly looking down on their working-class lifestyle, provides many laughs with her judgemental ignorance. Her character is most powerfully used, however, as a caricaturistic criticism of the harsh, snobbish attitudes which demonise and other those who have not been born with a silver spoon.
The meticulously timed, animated screen provides an energetic backdrop for the entire piece. Even calling it a backdrop feels like a disservice, when the entire cast directly interacts with the animation, never missing a beat, driving forwards the story and blurring the line between real and fake.
A play about the flaws in the UK’s institutions – primarily prisons and schools – could easily come off as preachy and heavy-handed. But, despite a few slightly on-the-nose monologues, the performance manages to get its message across without beating the audience over the head with it.
Theatre has long been used as a vehicle to explore themes of growing up, complex familial relationships, and to hold a mirror up to society, but Please Right Back succeeds in exploring these ideas in a fresh, stylish, exciting manner. Whether your perspective is shifted or not, you will find it hard to not be entertained.
Southbank Centre until January 5th.
Details and Booking: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/1927-please-right-back/
