Cuckoo

Birkenhead born playwright Michael Wynne has a Midas Touch when it comes to creating thought provoking plays that perfectly encapsulate Merseyside family life. His latest offering Cuckoo is absolutely no exception.

Created in partnership with the Royal Court Theatre London, BAFTA and Olivier Award winner Wynne has created a dark comedy that showcases multi-generational family dynamics, the different ways of coping in an unpredictable world, and the different responses people have to societal issues.

Cuckoo begins with family matriarch Doreen (Sue Jenkins), her daughter Carmel (Michelle Butterly) and granddaughter Megyn (Emma Harrison) sitting in silence on their mobile phones whilst they await the arrival of Sarah (Jodie McNee) with their Chippy Tea. The opening 5 minutes features very little dialogue, but shows a scene that is repeated in millions of homes up and down the country. We didn’t need to see what each person was looking at or doing, the mobile pings and dings coupled with the family reactions told us everything we needed to know.

Settling down to eat their fish and chips, the family discussions flip between dealing with grief (and hiding between the aisles of Superdrug to avoid dealing with grief), Climate Change, the size of a regular portion of fish and chips (Doreen definitely needed someone to help her finish them) and terrorism. This initial exchange between the family members is one of the many highlights of this production, as the conversation was littered with brilliant quips and one-liners. We constantly recognised our own family members within the Cuckoo family, and many of the trials and tribulations they spoke about were conversations we’d had within our own family.

“I do love some David Attenborough, but even he can be a bit of a miz bag now, always going on about climate change … You don’t want to think about the end of the world before you go to bed on a Sunday night.”

As a news alert detailing a terrorist attack breaks the self-imposed no phones rule, the family dynamic takes a turn with Megyn growing increasingly anxious. The culmination is her taking to her Grandmother’s bedroom, locking the door, and refusing to leave.

The play then fast-forwards initially to a few days later and then to 3 weeks later. Megyn still hasn’t left the bedroom, much to Carmel and Sarah’s dismay, and Doreen is communicating with Megyn almost exclusively via text message. There is a clear dynamic shift within this portion of the play, which concludes with secrets being revealed by different members of the family.

The staging for this production is simple but effective. The dining room is the focus of the scenes, with a staircase leading up to Doreen’s bedroom. The upstairs bedroom remains a mystery until the closing moments of the play when a curtain is drawn back to reveal an entire additional set. Keeping this set entirely hidden throughout the majority of the play was extremely inventive, but also helped to deliver the tender ending of the play. Complimented perfectly by the lighting designed by Jai Morjaria, and the infrequent audio interruptions of mobiles phones over the radio (a sound we haven’t heard since the days of playing Snake II on a Nokia), the styling of Cuckoo allowed for the acting to be the star.

The casting for Cuckoo is exceptional. Each of the four actresses delivered a compelling performance, and were truly believable as a family unit. The characters have a very clear and unique voice within the play, and each actress allows the others to shine. As an audience, we very quickly built a genuine connection with each one; the widowed Grandmother, the cynical single Mother, the overly-trusting Aunt and the emotionally conflicted teen.

Singling out anyone in a cast of just four feels somewhat unnecessary, but for us the star of the show was Emma Harrison.

Making her professional debut, and absent for much of the play as her character Megyn is locked away in the bedroom, Harrison absolutely shone. There is around 10 minutes during the closing of the play where she is alone on the stage without any lines. During this time, she delivers an absolute masterclass in her portrayal of the anxious, confused, and lost teenager. Simple acts like rubbing her feet together, or looking over her shoulder at the outside world through the patio doors, are delivered without over acting and without a hint of this being her debut; an absolutely mesmerising performance.

The final moments of the play are extremely powerful and perfectly encapsulate the safety that can be found at home. As one Cuckoo flies the nest, the nest is never truly empty. We were really moved by the final scenes and left this show feeling sombre but fulfilled. Theatre should make you feel something, and Cuckoo makes you feel an awful lot.

This is a production that absolutely should not be missed.

Cuckoo is on at the Everyman Theatre until 23rd September 2023. Tickets range from £11 to £41 and can be booked directly on the Everyman Theatre website.

Originally posted: September 9, 2023