Kerry Jackons, National Theatre, 13.01.2023 (a new play by April de Angelis)

Kerry Jackson is a hardworking, independent woman, running a little Spanish Tapas restaurant in East London and trying (maybe sometimes at all cost) to make it a success. Rather conservative in her beliefs, not very educated or refined and with some prejudices, she finds out that what was acceptable in a society twenty - thirty years ago, is no longer the case.

She has to be more careful with her precipitated outspokenness, and maybe more careful with the stance she takes when Europe is concerned. Wanting to capitalise on Spanish culture, yet voting for Brexit? Employing people of different races and then menacing them by reporting them (because their papers are not in order) when something goes wrong.... and apologising only when it's convenient? Well, times are different now and some people still have some catching up to do.

These topics and paradoxes circulate quite a lot in many theatres nowadays and rightly so. It's important to see them from different angles and perspectives, but also not to be too strangled with them. Warren, one of the male characters, pointed out that being a "white" person is not always an advantage today, or, in another words, are we going too far in wanting to be too politically correct? Well, whatever your thoughts may be, theatre plays make us think by pointing out the obvious, and also make us laugh. People laughed a lot watching this play, sometimes in connection to the recent socio-political situations, another time because of very human, comic (or silly) situations.

Having mentioned the negative side of Kerry (played by Fay Ripley) I have to say that she is also funny, energetic, vivacious, with a bit of a rough touch, but wonderfully expressive and spontaneous. I think Fay was very comfortable in this role. She made a good use of her singing and dancing parts to enjoy herself (and to impress us) and she used the text very well to bring some humour into the life complexity of the middle aged woman.

Her unmissable and irreplaceable cooker of a black origin, Athena (played by Madeline Appiah), complemented Kerry with her freshness and humility. The third female role was Alice (played by Kitty Hawthorne), the daughter of the philosophy teacher Stephen (Michael Gould), briefly Kerry's lover and (in a way) Kerry's counterpoint. Alice and Stephen shed a light again on something that has definitely changed over the past years: the relationship between parents and children. Indeed, the way children speak to parents and their overall attitude towards their "domestic" duties and responsabilities changed because of the awareness of their "rights" and position within the family. But again, their decision-making ability does not yet quite follow, so in the end, they still need a protective parents' watch.

This new play from April de Angelis seemed to have (again) very strong female characters (as well as My Brilliant Friend, which was absolutely fantastic). Kerry is the centerpoint of the story and of all talks, joys or conflicts. Athena holds her ground firmly and, though she comes back to Kerry after her nasty threat, she knows what she's worth and can speak for herself. Alice, a bit lost at the beginning, finally finds her way and makes decisions about what she wants to do in her life.