Running with Lions  
Lyric Hammersmith, London  

 

SAD but uplifting, Running with Lions is the story of a British-Caribbean family struggling to come to terms with the death of Joshua – son of Maxwell and Shirley, younger brother of Gloria and uncle of Imani, Gloria’s 16-year-old daughter.  
 
Joshua was killed as a young man in a hit and run accident many years back, yet no-one in the household has been able to process their grief.   
 
Gloria has had several breakdowns, Shirley shuts down all mention of her son, and Maxwell, a preacher, is secretly paralysed by the idea that God could have done such a thing.  
 
When Gloria returns from a spell in hospital to live temporarily and reluctantly with her parents, matters almost inevitably come to a head.  
 
No longer able to put up with the wall of silence about Joshua’s death, Gloria is determined to break it down, and as Imani approaches the age at which Joshua died, familial arguments over her future serve to emphasise the need to move on.  
 
What ensues is occasionally teary and emotional – but cathartic, too, and lightened in the right places with well-placed humour.  
   
There are particularly strong performances from Wil Johnson as Maxwell, questioning his faith in a powerful soliloquy, and from Velile Tshabalala as Gloria, driven to distraction by the old-school, buttoned up attitude of mother Shirley (Suzette Llewellyn), who asks: “Why you always want to talk about feelings?”  
 
Ruby Barker as Imani is rarely required to plumb the same emotional depths, but nonetheless delivers a heartfelt portrayal of a young woman who, while having respect for the achievements of her family, is impatient that it should move away from the self-protective kernel that has grown around it.  
 
Each of the characters is admirable in their own way, yet all need to learn to listen – and to be prepared to show vulnerability as a stepping stone to achieving greater personal strength. It’s a modern message, very much anti-stiff upper lip, and one that’s convincingly summarised through a moving finale in which the family dips into the well of love and pulls out clear water.  
 
One of the few weak aspects of the production is the set, with its starry night sky and long staircase that barely have any relevance to some of the scenes.  
 
The setting, however, is of minimal importance, and with the message paramount, this is a fine writing debut for Sian Carter, who furnishes the characters with excellent dialogue and sets up a three-generational scenario full of conflict and affection.    
 
Runs until March 12: https://lyric.co.uk/shows/running-with-lions