Flock by Lin Coghlan. Soho Theatre, Dean Street, London until 02 Nov, 2024.

4✩✩✩✩ Review: William Russell.

“Not to be missed.”

Terrific performances, particularly from Jamie Ankrah as Robbie, a sixteen year old going on seventeen who has remained a child, make this drama about  young people in care unforgettable. He and his older sister Cel, beautifully conjured up by Gabriella Leonardi, look after one another watched over by a stressed care worker, Mrs Bosely played by Jennifer Daley, while Robbie's layabout friend Mike, played by Deshaye Gayle hangs around keeping Robbie on a more or less even keel. He is prone to tantrums and deeply suspicious of the world outside. Not sure about the staging – just what that long sheet of white plastic was for, let alone the curtains which form the back wall and keep getting pulled to reveal other curtains behind were all about is anybody;s guess. But director Jim Pope keeps the tension up as their world disintegrates and then perhaps returns to some kind of stability. That something has gone wrong we know because the police are trying to break into a house and someone is urging them to hold back. It is not a true story  but has been inspire by the company's Raising the Roof Programme with young people in care and the problems they found they had to face, separation from siblings. Part of the problem is Robbie's dependence on Cel, her belief that she can go to university, which will separate them, and her decision to go to Brighton with a young man she has met, which to him is desertion and her behaving like their mother who had numerous affairs. It is a disturbing, enlightening hour not to be missed.

Cast

Jamie Ankrah – Robbie.

Gabriella Leonardi – Cel.

Deshaye Gayle – Mike.

Jennifer Daley – Mrs Bosely.

Creatives

Director – Jim Pope.

Set & Costume Designer – Sandra Falase.

Composer – Jules Maxwell.

Lighting Designer – Ian Scott.