This adaptation will bring what should be a national
scandal to new audiences. I look forward to the laughter, the love and the
sheer brilliance it will encapsulate, while packing a mighty punch.
Professor Sara Ryan
Some plays you watch with a kind of detached engagement,
invested in the characters and plot but letting your admiration for the skill
and performance professionalism. Others, far rarer, hit home in deeply personal
ways and, like this one, make you tear up with pride for the actors on stage
and in sympathy with the people they represent.
Connor Sparrowhawk was present throughout Stephen Unwin’s
extraordinary transfer to stage of the book Justice for Laughing Boy written
by Connor’s mother, Professor Sara Ryan, as was his entire family, including
his beloved Mum. They were seen in projections on a large white background,
Connor at an early birthday party, the family seen together after their triumph
in the courts and in snippets of media appearances as they fought for justice…
Connor’s funeral.
Connor was killed by the negligence of Southern Health at Slade
House, an Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) in Oxford who had not correctly
marked his epilepsy and, consequently, left him alone having a bath in a locked
room where he had a seizure and subsequently drowned. Southern was fined £2
million in 2018 for "serious systematic" management failings after
Connor’s death and the resultant campaign for justice which led to deeper
investigations such as the extensive Mazars report for NHS England. This looked
at all 10,306 deaths at the trust between April 2011 and March 2015 - 1,454 of
these deaths were unexpected, and only 195 were treated as a serious enough to
require investigation. Almost no cases involving special needs patients were
investigated.
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| Forbes Masson, Charlie Ives, Alfie Friedman, Daniel Rainford and Janie Dee photos by Alex Brenner |
There is obviously a huge amount of detail in this case and intense
emotional weight yet Stephen Unwin’s play and his magnificent cast, take us
through it in a spirited, informative and life-affirming way. It’s presented as
the family were talking directly to the audience which is a bold and difficult
task which has the affect of demolishing that fourth wall as well as uniting
the players in a way that is familial; they’re so at ease with each other, improvising
their way past the odd verbal fumble as families do, laughing and crying together
in ways that eventually break the viewer’s heart.
Leading is Janie Dee as Professor Sara Ryan who thoroughly
convinces with her drive and her hurt, a mother still devastated by the grief
of her child’s untimely and unnecessary passing who galvanizes all in the pursuit
of the truth. Sara as with my wife, and so many of the mothers of our group of
autistic families, lets nothing go and having fought for ever inch of provision
over her child’s life, carries on fighting for him after his death. As one of
the parents of a severely autistic boy we know said, people and services come
and go on your journey to look after your child but you have to keep
driving the bus*.
Sara is a relentless bus driver and as we see the back
projection of Oxford High Street on their journeys up to Headington, you know
that the bus-obsessed Connor would just love this analogy. Connor here is
played so well by Alfie Friedman and I say that as someone who recognises so
many of the aspects of ASD. My son is more into tube trains and Daleks but their
joy in the things they love is unbounded. David has a different profile, all autistic
people are unique, as you and I, but he too was sectioned and taken into an NHS
unit in London – one of the lowest points of my life. But we were lucky.
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| Janie Dee, Molly Osborne, Forbes Masson, Alfie Friedman, Charlie Ives, Daniel Rainford and Lee Braithwaite. Young Connor on the screen... Photo by Alex Brenner |
Forbes Mason plays Rich, Sara’s partner and father of the
group so many families with special needs struggle to stay united but Rich is a
constant source of support and humour. Connor’s siblings are played by Lee
Braithwaite (Owen), Molly Osborne (Rosie), Charlie Ives (Will) and Daniel
Rainford (Tom) – four young actors who also pick up a remarkable number of
other roles from the staff at the Unit, senior figures of Southern, or rather “Slovern”
as Sara renames them, barristers, friends and lawyers. It’s a fast-moving
narrative and mind-boggling in terms of the changes in character but behind
these characters lie the gang’s main role as the family and, this adds the
intimacy and the straight talking.
The events start with “Before” in the build up to Connors death,
then After and the steps along the way to the truth finally being established.
We see much of the young man’s character and this is such an affectionate and
loved person, it is overwhelming when we see the actual Connor on screen. As a remembrance
and recognition of this person it is poignant enough yet, as Sara says, it is
not just for Connor, the fight must continue, parents must continue to push for
the best provision and make governments and the powers that be respond.
The sections showing the incredible support for Connor and
his family online are also very powerful: there is a community of carers, of
the sympathetic and allies from all quarters who recognised the nature of the tragedy
and the type of cover up we’ve seen many times in this country. Connors death
is far from a one off and when a group of fellow victims was projected on
screen you could sense the anger and dismay in the audience.
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| Lee Braithwaite, Forbes Masson, Janie Dee, Molly Osborne and Daniel Rainford. Photo Alex Brenner |
And, as the current government fails to make up the
overall funding gap over the 14 years since they introduced Austerity, the
risks to other patients are only growing.
The friends I mentioned above have a son is a one in a
million with Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) and has resided in units
like Slade in which there have been deaths and abuse. They are currently
involved in an investigation of another unit, owned by private equity, and
their story will soon be national news via Channel 4. Who decided that our
children should be grounds for anyone making profit? It’s an extension of the
neglect and callous attitudes that have seen the growth of modern poorhouses for
those with special needs who, like Connor, and our son, struggle to find their
way after they pass out of the educational system into adult care.
When someone like Connor turns eighteen. There’s all this jargon. People “transition to adult services”. Then they face “dropping off the cliff edge…” … and suddenly everything changes.
I Thank You Theatre Rating: ***** One of the most
important plays you will see all year. This is the story of one family tragedy
which must help to improve provision for some of the most vulnerable families in
Britain: this is a human right and also underpins the ability for those
families to contribute to our national wellbeing. A magnificent cast who fully
demonstrate the solidarity and singularity of purpose we now need!
In addition to Stephen Unwin’s firm handed grip on the
narrative the design of Simon Higlett also deserves mention, enabling the stage
to shift from live performance to projected images, allowing “reality” to
intrude without knocking the play off-course. Props too for Ben Omerod’s lighting
design, Holly Khan’s sound design, Matt Powell’s video design and Anna Wood’s SFX
design. A formidable team all round.
What I found most moving though was the presentation of Connor… loved and loving, an innocent but a fully rounded human being who should have been protected, he should have been given a chance… It’s up to us now, we all need to drive the bus!
Laughing Boy runs at the Jermyn Street Theatre until 25
May before moving out on 4 to 8 June to Theatre Royal Bath – full details are on the JST website.
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| Connor Sparrowhawk |