Tuesday, 15th October 2024 at Leeds Playhouse
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The multi award-winning 1927 are back with a brand new show, and it’s another corker.
Apparently based on a true story, Please Right Back follows a father – Mr E – who writes to his kids and tells them fantastical stories about where he is and why he can’t be with them. With true 1927 aplomb, the tales he tells come to life on stage through Paul Barritt’s film and animation designs, with the live cast interacting seamlessly.
It’s a lively tale full of fantastical twists and turns as our cast merge with the animated world they inhabit – in fact one of the children is animated (voiced by Patrick Copley). The animations are not naturalistic and often lean into child-like sketchings which in turn offer some striking visuals, and Sarah Munro’s costumes continue the impression, with stylised black and white pieces alongside some whackier vibrant visions as we hurtle through Mr E’s stories.
The show is the work of writer and director Suzanne Andrade (with Esme Appleton co-directing) and I’m pleased to report that the same wry humour and deliciously dark satirical edge are apparent here as they were in my favourite 1927 show, The Animals and Children took to the Streets. There’s a familiar recipe to enjoy in terms of poignant revelations and details alongside biting social commentary – a little more on the nose here than in other pieces, but the impassioned I, Daniel Blake-esque speech from the mistreated mother is a powerful thing to behold. That said, Laurence Owen’s music, while perfectly in tune with the narrative ebbs and flows, is perhaps not quite so catchy and memorable as the music of previous shows from this company.
Stefan Davis leads a sharply drilled cast as the dad – AKA “Mr E”. Instantly warm and likeable with a twinkle and a sincerity from the off, Davis is a fabulous lead. As daughter Kim, Chardae Phillips is equally wonderful, charting the course of teendom at a time of pain and uncertainty brilliantly. Lara Cowin is a comic delight as the school girl bully type and impressively shifts to the more ominous presence of the “friend”, Sally. Jenny Wills proves a chameleon as she shifts between varied roles and accents, but has her best moments as the mum trying her best in an impossible situation.
If you haven’t seen a 1927 show before and you like your theatre theatrical, stylised, quirky and witty, then you really do need to get yourself along to this show. Their productions are truly unique and it’s likely you won’t have seen anything quite like their work before – they’re in a league of their own in my (humble) view and I can’t wait to see what they get up to next.
Please Right Back is at Leeds Playhouse until October 19th 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here.
Always Time For Theatre 
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