Last
night we visited the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. We have been going for
many years, during which time we have seen some exceptional productions and a
very few that should never have seen the light of day. Yesterday was very
interesting as what I had expected was a musical, what I got was one of the
most overtly political evenings that I have experienced in the theatre.
The
play was titled “Reasons to be Cheerful” and was described as a raucous musical
featuring the hits of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. So far so good, I was
expecting a musical run through the life of Ian Dury interspersed with songs.
Note here for foreign readers and those of a certain age, Ian Dury and the
Blockheads were a rock and roll group of the late seventies, though perhaps
they defied simple genre classification. They occupied a space between rock and
roll and punk. What was most striking were their lyrics, a typical example of
which was
"I
had a love affair with Nina, In the back of my Cortina. A seasoned-up hyena could not have been more obscener". There records were frequently banned by the BBC
but have since achieved recognition and respectability. Spasticus Autisticus a
polemic against the patronising nature of society towards disability was
banned, but thirty years later was used in the opening ceremony of the London
Olympics.
So the production had great music to work with,
albeit within a sentimental script. The cast brought huge vitality to the play,
and what was significant was the theatre company Graeae
promote the use of disabled actors. Dury himself was affected by childhood
polio and some of his lyrics reflect this. My daughter has met the founder of
this company and found her inspirational. Certainly last night they performed
with a verve that I have seldom seen in the theatre. To have an audience of
middle class Yorkshire people on their feet chanting “Sex and Dugs and Rock roll”
while simultaneously thrusting with their pelvis was one of my more surreal
theatre experiences.
Two things really stood out for me, one was the
social history; the musical was set in the East End of London in 1979. What it
portrayed was the white working class culture of the area and its overspill
into Essex. Lyrics were littered with place names. However when I started to
think about this I realised that this was now history, a newer Muslim immigrant
community now dominates the areas it portrayed. Socially and culturally they
are unrecognisable from Dury’s time, so the play acted for me as nostalgic
although not schmaltzy social history.
The musical ended with a political number
written by the company. This was essentially a protest song against the lack of
government support for people with disabilities. It was a powerful song with
some interesting graphics. Two things stood out. When a picture of Theresa May
was shown the audience booed. Several right wing figures were portrayed as the
devil, but here I parted way with the company, juxtaposing Nigel Farage and
Tony Blair in this way I thought was facile. Whatever ones opinion of Blair’s
Iraq adventure, society under his government became more equal, many social
issues were tackled in a way that they have not been since.
Overall though I suppose that this is what good
theatre is supposed to do, to challenge and stimulate debate and thought. It is
in this respect that I wish the Graeae Company every success, and will
certainly try to see their productions in future.
