One Million Tiny Plays About Britain review – a nation speaks

Jermyn Street theatre, London
Craig Taylor’s jumble of micro-playlets – some just a few seconds long – coalesce into a layered, comic, moving portrait of everyday life in the UK

Listening doesn’t seem to be in fashion these days. Shouting? Yes. But really listening to a different point of view? Not so much. Craig Taylor’s series of sketches, which originally appeared in the Guardian, feel like a welcome antidote to all the noise and fury. Some scenes are just a few seconds long but they are insightful, funny and encompass a huge range of characters across the country. It is a pleasure to sit with them for a while.

The show originally appeared at the Watermill theatre in 2016 and, for this latest stage outing, Ceci Calf’s set has gone all Christmassy. There are tinsel stars, a tinsel tree and tinsel trimmings; the full festive works. There’s also a big bingo board on the back wall, which frames the show both visually and structurally. As the numbers are called, a voiceover artist sets the scene – with a few jokes thrown in for good measure. Admittedly, the shtick begins to wear a little thin, but it’s a tidy way to pull the show together.

Actors Emma Barclay and Alec Nicholls make things light, focused and occasionally surprisingly moving. They wear all their costumes in one go and then, with each new sketch, strip off their layers to reveal other characters hidden inside. There’s a gentle mayhem to Laura Keefe’s production, which has been tightly choreographed yet still feels loose and relaxed. As the actors cobble together yet another scene, grabbing at seemingly random props, they laugh with the audience, always careful to let us in on the joke.

The very best skits look indirectly but with real pertinence at some of the country’s most pressing issues, including the strained NHS, the housing crisis and loneliness among an ageing population. In one very clever and very funny scene, a kid freaks out about the CCTV cameras watching her from every angle (“But who are they protecting us from?”). Meanwhile, over in Richmond, an elderly woman with early signs of dementia chats anxiously with a health visitor. “I’m in care in the community,” says the health visitor, and you can only hope he’s telling the truth.

• At Jermyn Street theatre, London, until 11 January.