Black Theatre Review: Sus

Barrie Keeffe’s hard-hitting and powerful production feels just as relevant as when it was first written 31 years ago and in the hands of up and coming director Gbolahan Obisesan couldn’t be more affecting.

(c) Keith Pattinson

It’s election night in 1979 and Delroy (Clint Dyer) has been brought into the police station under what he thinks is sus; the stop-and-search law that permits a police officer to act on suspicion alone. However detectives Karn (Simon Armstrong) and Wilby (Laurence Spellman) are actually investigating the death of Delroy’s wife who was found at home in a blood-stained nightdress only a few hours earlier.  But the truth of the matter soon becomes irrelevant and in a rush to close the case before the new Conservative government takes power the officers cater to their suspicions without the final autopsy report and actual cause of death. But will their methods force Delroy to confess or will the truth eventually come out?

This is the second time I have seen this production after it was initially produced at the Young Vic back in June 2009 and I have to admit, I much preferred it this second time round. At the centre of the play is a political debate highlighting the expectations held by the impending prospect of a Tory government. After years being run by Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan, the middle classes have become fed up with the Nanny State mentality of handout after handout which is reflected in the attitude of Officer Karn toward Delroy – an unemployed, father of three who spends more time in the pub then looking for a job. For Karn, a Tory government would finally put a stop to the lazy, indolent and often migrant working classes and thus make Britain a better place for all.

Obisesan has made a number of changes with the pacing and the drama seems to flow much quicker making the production as a whole feel significantly more dynamic and moving. The play also seems incredibly present and pertinent after we have just witnessed the end of a Labour government in favour of a Conservative coalition.

(c) Keith Pattinson

The cast of the production has also changed with Simon Armstrong and Laurence Spellman replacing Paul Moriarty and Sam Spruell respectively. Armstrong and Spellman are just as good, if not better, than their predecessors, giving outstanding performances that make you forget they are acting. Dyer, who is returning to the role as Delroy, shows more emotion and heart in his performance this time round and you feel instantly sympathetic and at times personally wounded by his situation and plight.

Set in the Clare studio at the Young Vic Sus has the added bonus of being played out no more than about a foot from the audience, making you feel just as a part of the interrogation room as Karn, Wilby and Delroy. This is a skillfully written, brilliantly acted and fittingly directed production whose excellence is being reflected with the rest of the run being sold out.

Sus
By Barrie Keeffe
Directed by Gbolahan Obisesan
Young Vic Theatre: 8th June – 26th June 2010
Cast: Clint Dyer, Simon Armstrong and Laurence Spellman
http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/sus