From the mind of writer Farah Najib comes a searing masterclass in dramatic tension, right at home in post-Grenfell London.
At first glance, Maggots is a simple play. Three actors on the Bush Theatre stage utilise collaborative storytelling to tell a tale that has become all too familiar: tenants in a housing association dealing with an increasingly extreme smell and infestation. Once the play starts, however, the audience is treated to a complex, compassionate story of deeply flawed humans being failed by an uncaring system.
Najib’s script is unflinching, almost playing out as a social horror set in a Britain ravaged by austerity, where mere community seems like a luxury. With witty dialogue, creatively vivid descriptions and a clear, concise structure, Maggots keeps the audience on tenterhooks, perfectly conveying a feeling of impending doom. In many ways, dramatic irony is the ultimate weapon in the writer’s arsenal, as they expertly dangle the conclusion, forcing the audience to watch helplessly as all-too-human character flaws and systemic neglect leave the issue to fester. Such is the tragic genius of the show: the fact that all of this is just so painfully solvable and avoidable.
Of course, Maggots is heavily bolstered by its performers. Sam Baker Jones, Safiyya Ingar and Marcia Lecky are magnificent, each bending and folding their performances to be exactly what is needed to tell such a multi-layered story as it was designed to be told. The actors begin as themselves, interacting with the audience and making it clear that they are merely vessels through which a vital contemporary story can be told, a mini Greek chorus meant to narrate a plot that is somehow both humanly small but so much bigger than themselves. As the narrative unravels, however, the performers slip ably into different personas, different characters and different emotions, all with the intention of taking us on a brutally bleak tale.
At its very core, Maggots is a story of humanity, of the importance of community and a resounding warning against the mortal dangers of a coerced culture of individualism. Najib’s script is solemn, taking time to explore the mortality of the left-behind, yet it maintains a glib sense of gallows humour, perfectly capturing how people become so desensitised to these issues. The production is a much-needed dose of brutal reality for the audience, and a brilliant addition to Bush Theatre’s season.
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