Thursday night calls for a cosy autumn evening watching a short, sharp and shocking play called Bad Lads at Live Theatre
They say a show is only good if it stays with you long after the curtain has closed, if it makes you feel something, if it moves you. And this one… This one does.
Bad Lads reminds me of a film I once watched with a similar storyline. However, a film is just a film, you watch it and then disassociate from it. You don’t necessarily think that something so vile and shocking could actually happen in real life. But Bad Lads recreates a story of boys whose lives were something straight out of the plot of “Sleepers”.
The Storyline of Bad Lads at Live Theatre
Durham, 1980s. The government, under Thatcher, has just announced the ‘Short, Sharp Shock’ policy for dealing with troubled boys aged 16 to 25. It was a national service regime designed to deter them from a life of crime. Medomsley Youth Detention Centre in County Durham was one of the places these boys were sent to.
When you put it into a timeline, three months doesn’t seem like a long time to spend in a correctional facility. But those three months caused a lifetime of damage to the main character, Jackie, who, in reality, represents around 1,800 other boys with similar experiences.
Bad Lads is a story based on painfully true events. It’s a story about oppression and resilience, giving voice to thousands of boys who suffered horrendous physical, emotional, and sexual abuse – a shocking and uncomfortable story that needs to be told.
The Production
Just before the show starts, I get chatting with some of the people in the audience. One of them has worked on the scenography of the show and gives me a little warning, saying that it’s heavy. I’m not one to shy away from uncomfortable topics and difficult subjects, so I know I’m in for something truly special.
When the lights go up and the show begins, three men walk on stage. One is the younger version of Jackie, the second is the present-day Jackie, and the third is the British Sign Language interpreter for the show. Within the first twenty minutes, we see Jackie in his mischievous prime, a character who very much reminds me of someone I used to know: funny, playful, and always causing some sort of silly trouble.
When Jackie gets caught stealing a milk float, he’s sent to Medomsley Youth Detention Centre, where he endures three long months of the worst kind of abuse imaginable at the hands of the guards. While the scenes are graphic and shocking at times, it isn’t the violence itself that makes me emotional, it’s the present-day Jackie speaking to his younger self while the horrendous abuse unfolds in real time.
“Speak up!”, “Why aren’t you telling him to stop?”, “Why aren’t you resisting?”, “Why aren’t you fighting back?” – these are the questions that linger in the minds of these men today.
But while the abuse is happening, Jackie just disassociates and waits for it to be over. Once it’s over, the guards leave him alone, for a while. They always come back for more, and each time, the abuse gets worse and worse.
Why a show like Bad Lads is important
The reason I like theatre shows is because, most of the time, they’re a commentary on society, whether it’s the past, present, or future. They educate the audience and help them understand another human being, with all their baggage. And when that baggage is heavy, people act in certain ways – ways that someone carrying lighter baggage might not.
Theatre shows like Bad Lads help us, as the audience, understand why some people self-sabotage relationships, why they don’t look forward to the future, and how even three short months of extremely traumatic circumstances can impact them forever.
On the table next to my seat, there’s a piece of paper urging us to write a message to the boys who experienced abuse at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre. I can only write four words, and even those aren’t mine (borrowed from ‘Good Will Hunting’), but they’re so very fitting nevertheless. “It’s not your fault” is all I can say, and I hope these men find some peace in knowing that the way they are, the way they think, and whatever way their lives have turned out – it really isn’t their fault.
Final words
Created from a story by Jimmy Coffey and the testimonies of the other Medomsley boys, writer Mike Kenny, director Jenny Sealey, actors Robin Paley Yorke and Danny Raynor, and Performance Interpreter Craig Painting have done a tremendous job, bringing this powerful, personal play to life with honesty and heart. They deserve all the praise, and a standing ovation, for telling a story so raw, so important, and so heart-wrenching.
I will be thinking of this one for a long, long time.
Bad Lads is on at Live Theatre until 11 October and tickets are available on their website.