Our Day Out - Lower School Play Review
Mr. Richardson, Teacher of English and lover of the theatrical reviews the Lower School's production of Our Day Out. Read on to hear his thoughts.
Many years ago, when I was a pupil, my school staged Our Day Out, though in that production my real teachers played teachers. They were a lot better at acting than teaching, but happily in the Merchant Taylors’ Drama Department’s production the students take all the roles, except for a zookeeper, an appalling cameo best forgotten. As with my own schooldays, Willy Russell’s play is of blue remembered hills; in this case, the Welsh landscape that provides the ‘day out’ for the remedial ‘Progress Class’ of an impoverished Liverpool school. Savio Gimmi’s inspired design shuttles us from the gritty inner city to the open spaces of Conwy, via various locations including a zoo, while the teachers strive to control their troubled charges and stop them stealing the animals.
The action centres on the conflict between the maternal Mrs Kay, a delightful turn by R King, who understands that this trip is a brief respite from the grim reality of these children’s lives, and strict disciplinarian Mr Briggs, played authoritatively by M Agrawal, who is sent by the Head Master – a wily R Weetch (later seen as Kid 2) – to keep order. P Pandya thoroughly convinces as a jaded teacher battling the odds, while D Senevritatne enjoys himself as the laconic Driver, more used to ferrying children from the “better schools” about.
Determined to cause trouble, veteran schoolboys Reilly, the always brilliant H Prashad, and Digga, a charismatic K Obaydi, manage to blag their way onto the coach. Scene-stealing I Saluja as Linda, and a mischievous K Al-Hilfi as Karen, are also determined to cause trouble for the object of their affection, the long-suffering Colin – a superb Reese Reuben.
The ensemble cast are terrific, some of whom are making their debut in this production: S Murad, R Kanuga, H Faisal, D Mehta – we look forward to seeing them again on stage soon. Much of the cast accentuate the play’s humour, including V Patel’s worldly lollipop man; E Jamal’s persistent Kevin; R Sabour as a brave chap who stands up to the intimidating Reilly; and N Detre’s unfortunate Andrews, who is the fall guy for the older boys’ crimes and misdemeanours. But there are moments of poignancy, also, including P McClaren’s thoughtful Ronson, and the always memorable M Halkerston, who as the heartbreaking Carol, breathes the crisp, free air of Conwy and refuses to return to her miserable life in Liverpool.
Director Cheryl Clarke injects this nostalgic play with freshness and vitality that belies its vintage. Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay end up with a mutual respect that is uplifting, but the play ends on a downbeat note. We realise that for most of the children their day out will be as good as it gets and – as acknowledged by Reilly – what awaits them on their return is a future filled with futility and failure. This is a big, young cast and a lot of work has gone into managing tech and traffic, so special mention to C Jolliff, L B Alaya, T Baldwin, A Scott, S Harwood, C Jain, P Brown and to R Dattani for keeping things moving as proficiently as the school coach that dominated the stage, and which took us all on a very entertaining journey.
Pictures from the performance
