Review: The Big House Anthology

During the first Covid lockdown, and appalled by the news stories surrounding George Floyd, I co-authored (with Carolyn Bradley) a resource, ‘Developing A Representative Curriculum.’ Acknowledging the limitations of the offerings of set texts by the main exam boards, this resource aimed to encourage and support drama teachers in making bold choices and ensuring that their curriculum met the needs of their students. It's genuinely inspirational to see, then, what The Big House has managed to do in terms of their work with vulnerable young people, and see how these brilliant plays absolutely stand on their own merits but can also offer new and bold opportunities to students everywhere.

The Big House is an organisation that works with care leavers and those who are at high risk of social exclusion, and provides a platform for them to participate in making their own theatre. There are five plays here: Andrew Day's Phoenix Rising takes its inspiration from a late member of The Big House who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and beautifully blurs the line between fantasy and reality. In Knife Edge by David Watson, there's an ambitious and beautiful tragicomic exploration of grief and pain…set in a contemporary restaurant. Andrew Day's second contribution, Bullet Tongue (Reloaded) gives a powerful voice to the young people mired in trap houses and caught up in ‘county lines’ operations. Watson's The Ballad Of Corona V (The Remix) was written during the dreaded social distancing era and ambitiously swirls multiple eras and locations with the possibility of site-specific performance. Finally, James Meteyard's Redemption is a bracing walk through Maz's turbulent life, told in scenes with verse, prose and song.

It's hard to find fault with what's here; the epic scale and hugely ambitious writing indicates the theatrical chutzpah of The Big House. Similarly, the accompanying interviews and production notes are enormously helpful and offer encouragement and advice. If I had to pick a favourite it would be Phoenix Rising, but all these plays offer something distinctive and unique. The whiff of authenticity runs through them all; these are probably best aimed at GCSE/BTEC students.