Baby at Brixton House Review

Reviews

16 Oct

Giving a voice to women in the justice and prison system, Baby is now officially open at Brixton House Theatre. Written by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti and co-produced by Clean Break, a company founded by two women in prison wanting to give a voice to those criminalised, Baby follows our titular character as she navigates a difficult and exploitative childhood, a prison experience and beyond.

The set in Studio One of Brixton House, designed by Khadija Raza, is a simple buttery yellow curtain which pulls back at points in the show to reveal props including a baby doll which is used throughout. The simplicity is effective and amplified by Bethany Gupwell’s lighting design, which takes us to a house party in one breath, plunging us into darkness in the next.

Pearl Mackie is ‘Baby’ and what an incredible job she does. We meet her as a gifted student, even though she doesn’t quite see herself that way, who acts as a carer for her drug user mother behind the scenes. She refers to herself in first and third person as she energetically bounds through life into womanhood, where she meets ‘Dee’ who dotes on her, treats her to lobster thermidor and holidays to Ibiza. What’s the point of applying for university and simply being yet another statistic when this is your life? The life of luxury soon comes to an end, when Baby finds herself in prison and subsequently struggles to get her life back on track. We see Baby struggle to gain employment, secure housing and adapt to a life of probation and case workers. Baby runs into barriers along the way, unable to afford private rented properties, navigating the probation service and high turnover of staff. These are all real life issues, which should absolutely be talked about.

Whilst in prison Baby gives birth to a daughter who she names Bliss. This is where Mackie really shows off her acting skills. Bliss is a glimmer of hope in Baby’s life, and where she really realises she needs to do her best to turn her life around. We feel Baby’s determination; hearts melt at her cooing over her newborn and hearts break when Bliss is taken to a foster home. I genuinely felt tears prick in my eyes, and heard a few sniffles throughout the theatre.

This isn’t a pretty story at all, and Baby goes through so much despite being young. I do feel like some of the story was glossed over, and there were missed opportunities to explore further. A prime example could be looking at Baby’s relationship with her mother and the one she is building with Bliss. Instead, it was traumatic incident after traumatic incident.

Overall, Baby is a brilliant production exploring dark topics which society do face today. This is a thought-provoking powerhouse of a production, inviting viewers to think about and question the barriers that women face when they find themselves in the criminal justice system.

Baby plays at Brixton House Theatre until 31st October 2026