Admiral

Creating a spreadsheet of shows appealing to 6 people with an age-range spanning 50 years and with different tastes isn't easy. This year one of the main criteria was simply time, length and venue. To be honest "Admiral" wasn't in my first list but it was in the right place at the right time and having read about the story it sounded interesting though, generally, I try to avoid seeing plays dealing with current issues as I prefer to be transported away from the horrendous state of the world today.

This is the story of "Admiral" who came over from the West Indies with his parents as part of The Windrush Generation of the 1950's and 60's, and now finding himself unwanted and hounded by the Conservative government as part of former Home Secretary Theresa May's plan "to create a really hostile environment for illegal migrants".

His story is enhanced by the addition of songs to indicate Admiral's experiences starting with an impressive version of Sammy Davis Junior's "Mr Bojangles".

I thought Christopher Tajah's performance was moving and believable but his story (especially with his wife and family) was underwritten. It felt as if the inclusion of the songs was a way of filling out the show which was scheduled for 50 minutes and still under-ran. Unfortunately, I didn't always think the songs suited Christopher's voice, especially Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed".

There is a good show about this modern scandal to be written but, unfortunately this isn't it.