Theatre Soap as part of the #CLASS Season at Hoxton Hall
“nails the complexity of London working-class life”
I do not watch soaps. It’s not really a loaded statement, it’s just we don’t have a tv for fear of the tv licensing people knocking down our door, and netflix has a strangle-hold on our quiet nights. So when my partner mentioned she had tickets to Hoxton Street, a Theatre Soap written by working-class writing duo Oladipo Agboluaje and Lil Warren (based on a concept from Karena Johnson) about life on the street, I was not prepared in the slightest. I’m a stranger to soap dramas, a relative stranger to the theatre, and a stranger to Hoxton Street.
I’ve cycled it’s length a few times and always been surprised at its old London feel – even the skyline high-rises of the city can’t overshadow the bustle of the market, nor the proximity to the ultra-gentrified stomping grounds of Shoreditch and beyond.
The set is our first introduction to the street. (Designed by Amy Yardley). It’s wonderfully simple, belying the choice power of its cultural cues; from a record shop with a Janet Kay lover’s rock record on the wall, to a family-run falafel stand on the market, or a new-build living tower for yuppies (they’re clearly not estates when the middle classes move in) – these are scenes we all recognise on streets like Hoxton street. The cast flit between these uncompromisingly effortless settings, as thick east-end accents spin stories that are instantly relatable.
We follow the arrival of Tony Maynard (Nathan Welsh), a returning Hoxton street fixture who’s about to cause trouble for the street’s residents new and old. What unfurls are a small clutch of mini-dramas, that in true soap style, are forever ending on cliffhangers and intrigue, carrying each episode at pace. This was not my sort of thing, I had told myself, yet there I was, clinging to the edge of the wrought-iron balcony of Hoxton Hall, itching to jump to the next scene.
And though there was a healthy dose of soap-esque melodrama, a little hamming it up here and there (to a raucous response from the audience), the relationships and situations were also shown with remarkable sincerity. Take Tony’s mother (Helen Pearson) and her relationship with her daughter (Hannah Traylen). There’s something incredibly touching about their bond – it’s undoubtedly genuine – and yet it also highlights the struggles they have faced as a pair, and the expectations that they, as working class women, thrust on themselves. It is remarkable how fluently all of these ideas are delivered.
The same exists across the piece – in Episode One alone we hear themes of class shame, the tussle between old locals and (arguably old) gentrifiers, the generational struggle within migrant families – and remember, this is a soap! A drama filled with giggles, and oohs and aahs from the audience. All of this, crammed into quick, half-hour-long-ish episodes.
There seems to be a real love for these characters from the writers – none are scorned or oversimplified, in a world where still to this day, major broadcasters fail to represent working class people as having any depth. It nails the complexity of London working-class life without doing any disservice to the people. And nor does it do a disservice to the audience; we shout and holla on cue, as each episode finishes with a dual cliff-hanger – we are chosen to deliver the next instalment, voting on which outcome we would like to see aided by the gossipy Monica Belo (Carol Moses).
And boy does it work well, because glancing around the gorgeous old music hall, it’s filled with plenty of local characters, heady from a mix of Eastenders omnibuses and the twinkle of a night out with friends.
So here I find myself, itching to watch Episode Two, shouting from the balcony for more alongside a gaggle of local Hoxton life. Hoxton Street has been cleverly serialised, with episodes one and two back to back in the first weeks, and an omnibus of all episodes finishes the run.
It’s like an homage to music hall programmes, the bastions of working class entertainment in these parts of London. Hoxton Street is fun, joyous, yet doesn’t skip over or shy away from the very real problems that normal working people face day-to-day. Soak it in, and join me for the next episodes.
Hoxton Street Omnibus runs 18-28 May.
For more info on the #CLASS season and tickets visit the Hoxton Hall website
https://www.hoxtonhall.co.uk/whats-on/
Oliver Jones
London lover, no theatre goer
Also takes photos: http://www.instagram.com/olliehuwjones
Unity Arts London 