Random

Debbie Tucker Green's stark one-person play looks at how a family is destroyed by a random act of violence.

The story is told through all of the characters of a family; mother and father, son and daughter, and by the people they come across - teachers, friends, police, strangers. A remarkable feat of writing, and an even more remarkable feat of acting for Seroca Davis who manages to produce a wide range of clearly defined, utterly credible characters out of thin air (and raw talent!). The family is black and the dialogue (theorietically a multi-character monologue) reflects that - a fact that led me to the curious (and somewhat sad) conclusion that I am more familiar with Shakespearean "speak" than the street talk of my contemporaries. The writing, however, along with clear delivery, meant that I didn't miss a thing and, indeed, was able to revel in the musicality of it as I might in bard-speak ;-) Whilst the family in this story is black, this is not a black tale, what happens in the story happens all too often to people from all ethnicities and the effects on their loved ones are always the same - we see ourselves clearer because we view ourselves through different eyes. 

Sacha Wares production is equally stark - a bare stage, harsh lighting and barely a move other than those required to represnet the various people depicted. And yet, for all its bleakness this is a story with its share of humour which gives us a brief window right into the hearts of these peoples' lives. A beautiful piece of theatre.