This Might Not Be It review: Behind the Perspex partition
This Might Not Be It (Bush Theatre, London)
Verdict: Could be it
Thanks to this week's depressing news of a deepening crisis in children's mental health care provision, Sophia Chetin-Leuner's new play, This Might Not Be It, is regrettably timely.
It is, however, also a sweetly hopeful, broom cupboard-sized drama set on the other side of the Perspex partition in a children and adolescent outpatient department.
The action hinges on Angela and Jay, a double act of an old-lag receptionist and a young idealist.
Angela runs her own bespoke filing system under the mantra of 'refer, refer, refer'.
Jay is a trainee therapist who is determined to digitise the folders scattered all over the office floor.
This Might Not Be It production photos taken on the 30th January 2024 taken at the Theatre Bush, London
The action hinges on Angela and Jay, a double act of an old-lag receptionist and a young idealist
Both answer to unseen Gary — the NHS's answer to Samuel Beckett's Godot, handing down rulings from the 4th Floor.
Chetin-Leuner exhibits a talent for tautology with lines like Jay's 'you don't know stuff until you know stuff'.
But she also suggests how the dysfunctional NHS does somehow still manage to function — and how staff can connect with patients despite crushing bureaucracy and the temptation to despair.
This could be more fully explored in a longer play but, like the writing, Ed Madden's production is a hyper-realist distillation of a dog-eared hospital office.
There are neat turns from Debra Baker's officious yet warm-hearted Angela, Denzel Baidoo's naive and bashful Jay, plus Dolly Webb as an all too familiar, vulnerable teenage girl.
Related articles
Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. to lead Indianapolis 500 field in Corvette pace car
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. will drive the pace car for the 108th ru2024-05-21Michael Sheen comically reveals how he broke his toe at a gym in LA
Michael Sheen has comically revealed how the moment he broke his toe at a gym led to a surprise meet2024-05-21Gladiator II: Paul Mescal battles Pedro Pascal in first footage from Ridley Scott's highly
Paramount Pictures unveiled five minutes of unfinished footage from the highly-anticipated sequel Gl2024-05-21Police build a case against Lego gang: Thieves steal $300,000 worth of high
Police in California have charged four people following the theft of $300,000 worth of Lego sets fro2024-05-21Children are evacuated from school 'during an exam' after threat made via email
Children have been evacuated from a school with Year 11 students told to leave mid-exam after a thre2024-05-21The Talk CANCELLED! Daytime series to end with season 15
CBS' long-running daytime staple, The Talk is set to end this year after 15 seasons. The network mad2024-05-21
atest comment