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The Invisible
Bush Theatre, London W12
4/5
THE INVISIBLE not only effectively dramatises the human cost and suffering created by government austerity, it’s also an effective reminder of theatre’s power to respond rapidly and powerfully to current political events.
The play tells the story of Gail whose small law firm which helps battered women in arranged marriages and grieving, depressed elderly men in tenuous housing situations, is brought to its knees by the cuts.
There’s nothing romantic in Lenkiewicz’s drama, whose characters are all too human and sometimes annoy.
But the cleverness in the script, and in Michael Oakley’s direction, means we see the human cost and damage that these unjustified and thoughtless cuts create.
We don’t have to think cheating husband Ken is a good guy to believe that he deserves legal representation.
Rather, we see how ridiculous and despairing it is when he is forced to represent himself in court. The performances reflect that, with Alexandra Gilbreath’s Gail and Niall Buggy’s Shaun particularly strong.
The writing, though, varies. Riz’s calm justification of his violence is haunting but Gail’s repeated references to her budget, made to her seemingly capable colleague, veer close to exposition.
Yet her passionate “fuck you to Grayling... fuck you and your fucking Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. Fuck you and your oppressive regime!” certainly makes an impact because we respond to the human cost, not detailed accounts.
Lenkiewicz nicely complicates the story with repeated fantastical interruptions, along with stylised movement and dance sequences, which punctuate the intense duologues which shape the play.
These interruptions make their impact in indicating the more carefree, fun and intimate interactions that these characters could have if their lives weren’t entirely taken up by fighting with and through the law.
The play ends with Shaun’s upsetting appeals to the audience: “I just want to be held for a moment. A touch. Before I go.”
But what stays with us is Gail’s utterly terrifying claim that “Tesco’s says it might branch out into law.”
Runs until August 15, box office: bushtheatre.co.uk
