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Review: Elephant (Menier Chocolate Factory)

Review by Sam Waite

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Anoushka Lucas, an Olivier nominee for her work in Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma!, has proven herself as a face to watch in recent years. Alongside that Best Actress nod, she’s released her own music, appeared in shows both classic and entirely new, and performed her solo show to acclaim and awards. That solo venture, Elephant, now returns to London for this run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, putting Lucas’ many talents once again front and centre. 



A sell-out success at the Bush Theatre, Elephant follows the character of Lylah through several key points in her life, charting childhood firsts, early adult success, and a budding romance with a fellow musician. With French citizenship and grandparents as far-flung in origin as Cameroon, India, and Dorset, Lylah’s upbringing is a melting pot of cultures which – as she will learn – many struggle to reconcile with one another.

 

A savvy, incisive playwright, Lucas demonstrates clearly how this perceived ambiguity plays into the different aspects of Lylah’s life. Artists like Alicia Keys are namechecked as possible comparisons for her piano-driven compositions and emotive lyricisms, while the same off-stage voices pitch collaborations with a more urban artist – that’s the audience they’re aiming for, both a statement and a question. Lucas’ writing finds its most powerful moments in the titular metaphor, increasingly expanding on how ivory finds its way from an elephant’s body to a piano’s keyboard. It’s a striking and painfully clear comparison for Lylah’s multi-racial existence, and the sacrifices she is expected to make – a living thing must be harmed, must be killed, must be torn apart, so that the piece society has deemed beautiful can be repurposed.

 


Powerful though the text itself may be, Lucas’ performance gives additional weight to the material. Deeply in tune with Fish’s vision for a darker and more severe Oklahoma!, and an electrifying, commanding presence in Anthony Lau’s Sheffield production of The Crucible, it’s already well established what a fine actor Anoushka Lucas is. Still, performing her own material brings a special part of her skillset to the forefront, mining her own lived experience for tender and passionate moments, without ever dropping the guise of Lylah, or abandoning the character in order to share only her own truth. This ability to fully inhabit a role while allowing pieces of herself to bleed carefully through makes for an utterly thrilling performance.

 

Credited with both direction and development of the show, Jess Edwards helps to guarantee there are no bad seats for this in-the-round production. As the piano at the centre of Georgia Wilmot’s simple but effective stage periodically rotates, Edwards has Lucas dart around, up, and even across the instrument, giving a dynamism to moments which call for a more enthusiastic, energetic feeling. Combined with the stunning visuals created around moments of musical performance through a blend of Gillian Tan’s video and Laura Howard’s lighting design, Edwards’ vision for the piece shines through and helps to produce a cohesive, striking identity for the play.

 


Moving back to Anoushka Lucas herself, credit must be given for her work as composer and lyricist for Elephant. Using songs both as emotional bridges between different points in time and as examples of the “good, but too clever” songs executives struggle to find a place for, Lucas’ musical contributions make up the heart of Elephant, and serve to strengthen its structure and reinforce the scenes around them.

 

While some may prefer a more centred narrative, focusing more closely on either Lylah’s upbringing or her struggles to make a name for herself as a musician, there’s no denying the power and prescience of Elephant, or the importance of that central, unforgettable metaphor. Anchored by Lucas’ sheer magnetism, and written from a place of both power and poise, this is a welcome return for a show I’m certain could have an ever brighter future, should Lucas and co wish to continue spreading its message.

 

Elephant plays at the Menier Chocolate Factory until June 29th

 

 

Photos by Manuel Harlan

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