They should make you sign an NDA before entering the Soho Theatre to watch this play. The questions of who dunnit, what it was and when it happened are all vital to the narrative hold of Jenny Sealey’s one-woman-one-‘terp-one-son-play that it would be a crime to report them. It’s out duty as an audience to make sure Jenny can tell her secrets and in her way: it’s one of the most intricate and, yes, engaging plays I’ve seen for some time and it’s already my feelgood hit of 2024!
Jenny begins by removing the fourth wall and she will gradually break down every barrier to the truth between the audience and herself. She introduces herself and explains that she is deaf then Jeni Draper, her ‘terp or interpreter, whose job it is to be Jenny, at least in terms of sign language, then we get to meet her son Jonah – who, like Jenny’s father, is a photographer and a smart one at that, providing captioning and video design along with witty audio contributions, like mother like son.
Jenny is an award -winning Artistic Director of the disabled-led theatre company, Graeae, and just when you might expect this play to be about her condition you are swiftly disabused. Jenny went deaf aged seven after an accident playing with a pal, but she explains how her mother, especially decided to bring her up “hearing” so much so that she can “pass” for hearing even though she is fully at terms with what must once have been a traumatic experience. Such is Jenny’s obvious sense of character and resolution: but let nothing detract from the exceptional job she has done presenting a story with a completely different focus from her lived experience. Self-Raising is about family and it's about truth and lies that we all have, and which we hold tightly to ourselves pretty much like bags of flour.
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| Jeni Draper and Jenny Sealey. All photos by Tiu Makkonen |
Yes, what exactly is it about the flour, and why does it have to be self-raising? The answers will come, but only when Jenny is ready, firstly she explains how her play was going to be about Anne Fine’s schoolbook Flour Babies… The story concerns a class of “underachievers” who are given bags of flour which they have to carry for three weeks and treat like babies. It’s providing a lesson in responsibility and also encouraging pupils to think about the role of their parents. As she explains, Jenny hands out bags of flour to members of the audience in front rows, each one has a name and like schoolchildren we’re not entirely sure why.
The original plan was abandoned when certain family secrets came to light in ways that meant Jenny had to write her way through it and as we see, perform her explanation. It’s bold and it’s brave and utterly compelling as she and her ‘terp and her son on AV, take us through the family history, from Jenny’s growing up in Nottingham to her father Bob’s photographic company, Tempest Photography – still a going concern by the way – which is appropriately the name of Jenny’s favourite Shakespeare.
The set doubles as a storage area – for flower, family photos and memorabilia – and a dark room in which some of the blackest secrets can, literally, be exposed. As Jenny talks us through her parents, her sisters and her friends, their pictures appear on the screen above where she attaches them – each one with commentary from Jenny and or Jonah and, of course Jeni.
Sealey strikes an extraordinary intimacy with her audience through her open-hearted discourse and unaffected stage presence. It’s easy to forget that this is her life or that she is acting… fore by the end you feel she has taken us into her confidence and also soften the blows her revelations might otherwise cause. Sealey on stage creates a safe space throughout the auditorium even if for the first few rows at least, there’s the possibility you may have to hold a bag of flour for the duration.
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| Jenny Sealey holds the audience in her hands. Photo by Tiu Makkonen |
IThankYou
Theatre rating: ***** A
reversed engineered delight, Jenny Sealey has worked backward from a series of
explosive and emotional revelations to create a linear masterpiece that pulls
you into the most honest and warm-hearted description of "family"
you'll find on any stage in London. Wholeheartedly recommended!
Written by Sealey with Mike Kenny and tightly directed by Lee Lyford Self-Raising is absolutely the Theatre of Truth and Trust, it’s an uplifting cathartic experience that makes us question why we keep secrets and which ones to share with our nearest and dearest.
The Self-Raising tour continues across the UK until the end of March and you should book as soon as possible using the links below:
6 – 17 February, London Soho Theatre
20 – 21 February, Scarborough, Stephen Joseph Theatre
22 – 23 February, Liverpool Everyman
29 February – 1 March, Derby Theatre
4 – 5 March, Newcastle Live Theatre
7 – 9 March, Colchester Mercury Theatre
12 – 13 March, Warwick Arts Centre
14 March, Nottingham Playhouse
19 – 20 March, Bristol Tobacco Factory
22 – 24 March, Leeds Playhouse
Details of the Graeae Theatre Company are available on their website.
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