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.

One of the main points of interest in the play is the exploration of the origin of the ivory and the wood used to craft pianos. The concept of elephant hunting and the use of enslaved people to transport the materials would be a different, thought-provoking way to explore issues around race in the classroom, also linking well with environmental issues.

The play goes backwards and forwards in time to explore Lylah’s experiences both as a child and a woman. She is from a mixed background, and we see the world through her lens as she navigates it. There are moments of contrast: Lylah’s family live in a council flat, but she is offered a significant bursary to attend an exclusive private school. Lylah is an incredibly talented musician, but is exhausted by the ways people try to make her change – she’s too well spoken, she needs to collaborate with an urban artist to have the right appeal, she’s too outspoken about her boyfriend’s family land in Kenya.

The play is a series of monologues so would be great for GCSE and A Level work, but there would also be lots of opportunities to use the text for off-script work exploring very pertinent themes. Elephant is definite must have addition to your bookshelf.