First produced in 2019 in London, Shook by Samuel Bailey is set in an institution for youth offenders and focusses on the experience of three of the inmates.
The three have in common the fact they are fathers – or soon will be – and they share classes aimed at preparing them for this responsibility.
It’s an inspired choice by Bailey. It raises the disturbing and galvanising spectre that the underclass status of these youths is an inherited one and will be passed on to their children. It effectively conveys that their traumatised lives have ill prepared them for concerns beyond themselves. It highlights their vulnerability, stuck inside when there’s somewhere much more important to be. And, most of all, it reminds us that these young people, though rejected by society, are still one with the common human experience.
It’s a terrific script, brimming with humour and heart, and in this production, directed by Emma Whitehead, the performances are absolutely superb.
Malek Domköc as Riyad, one time gang member, beautifully balances the ominous with a blossoming maturity.
Isaac Harley as Jonjo, the troubled newcomer, delivers his character arc magnificently. The glimmers of transcendence of trauma that Jonjo achieves are presented with a gradualness that is gloriously truthful.
Edyll Ismail plays the social worker who must prepare these young people for the future. Ismail perfectly portrays the inner conflict so often experienced by those working in institutions charged with remedying institutional problems: genuine concern is twinned with a patience that is a close cousin to despair.
Louis Regan as Cain sets the stage alight with a brilliant high-energy performance, one of the most exciting I’ve seen for a while. His Cain suffers from ADHD, and bounces between intimidation, bravado, humour and a deeply affecting vulnerability.
Paul Gilchrist
Shook by Samuel Bailey
at the Substation, Qtopia until June 5
qtopiasydney.com.au/performances/
Image by Becky Matthews