Review: Elephant by Anoushka Lucas

Elephant centres around Lylah, who sees a piano come through the sky and land in her council flat when she is a young girl. From that moment on, Lylah’s whole world is the piano; a place that she returns to after being ‘good good good at her posh private school, or naughty with her cousins on the estate or when mum and dad are too tired and distracted to answer her questions.’ The play first appeared as part of the Bush Theatre’s Protest series, performances created in response to the murder of George Floyd.

The play is a mixture of song and monologue moving through events in Lucas’s life and exploring the raw elements that make up a piano. The title Elephant makes reference to the ivory that was historically used to make the pianos keys. The notes at the beginning of the text state that the show must be performed by a piano player, where possible with a real acoustic piano. This would be vital for a physical production of the play, but would also be beneficial for use in the classroom.