Have You Took The Bins Out? at Drayton Arms Theatre Review

Written by Brad for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own

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A young couple are moving into their first home together, but all the bin men for the street are on strike. The pavements outside near overflow with rubbish, the stage a moodily lit circle of cardboard boxes, plastic bottles and household waste. But there’s one bin bag they brought with them…

Written by debut writer Orson Bourne, who provides a thoughtful, understated performance as the unnamed ‘Man’, the play interestingly explores the children’s foster care system through the PTSD of an adult who outgrew it rather than a real-time story of a child struggling through it. 

This was the first expectation of mine shattered by this play. From the premise, I was expecting perhaps a kitchen sink drama akin to John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, but instead I was greeted with one of the most heartfelt episodes of ‘The Young Ones’ I’ve ever seen. 

Being a foster child is something ‘Man’ has kept hidden from his partner ZsaZsa, skillfully played by Eloise Thody, until the recent move surrounds them with remnants of both of their pasts they’d rather keep buried amongst the rubbish. It also brings about plenty of new developments as the young couple are surrounded by snooty rich in-laws, dodgy best friends, flirty old boyfriends, complacent social workers, selfish former foster parents and a Christian Texan neighbour, all larger-than-life comedic joy, bringing levity and a hint of chaos to the world of the play. ‘Have you Took the Bins Out?’ is also Lamp Light Theatre Company’s debut production, and what an incredible company they’ve assembled, all displaying collaboratively impressive performances here.

Another major shake up to the expectations of a play about this subject matter, is that it’s very funny. From the powerhouse performances of the ensemble to the oddball takes and perspective on life from Man, it really adds a richness and personality to the production. 

Better still this exaggerated version of reality does well to connect the story to the stranger melting dream sequences, flashbacks and metaphorical action from the ensemble. The tonal shift and juxtaposing elements are balanced incredibly under Emma McAllister's Direction and lit as beautifully as it is effectively by Jasmine Hoi Ching Tom’s design.

The eclectic cast of characters all come to a head with a hilarious farce-level reveal of the growing pile of secrets.Traditionally, in plot structure guidebooks, this should happen much closer to the end of the play but again the play breaks the rules…It feels as though this happens in the middle, allowing a huge amount of the remainder of the play to focus on all of its real-life repercussions and Man’s eventual emotional destruction. 

The play packs some emotional punches, witty writing and great performances. At times it can feel tumultuous, as a collection of lots of ideas as  Bourne himself writes in the programme that the play’s content includes ‘‘little fragments of writing’ he has carried with him throughout his own experiences in the care system. I feel perhaps this piece could be more efficient in its storytelling. However, it was so energetic and creative it didn't drag as much as I feared after seeing the long-for-a-one-act-play running time. 

The sum of all its parts became one of the most inventive theatrical experiences I’ve seen this year. Excited to see what Lamp Light Theatre Company cooks up next, even if an Al Dente Sausage Baguette.

Have You Took The Bins Out? plays at Drayton Arms Theatre until 25 July.

★ ★ ★ ★