'Elephant' review — Anoushka Lucas is completely transfixing in this miniature powerhouse of a play

Read our review of musical solo show Elephant, now in performances at the Menier Chocolate Factory to 28 June.

In the 80-seater studio at the Bush Theatre, Anoushka Lucas’s debut play Elephant felt gigantic. The monologue told the love story between Lylah (played by Lucas herself), a mixed-race, working-class girl who passes among the middle classes, and her beloved mahogany piano. In that small space, Lylah’s affection for her instrument pulsed like a beating heart — unfaltering, tender and rhythmic.

Some of that intimacy has inevitably been lost as Elephant has grown, first with its move to the Bush’s larger main house and now in its transfer to the Menier Chocolate Factory. Now, Lucas seems less like a nervous friend confiding in the audience and more like a storyteller commanding the stage. But that’s not to say she is any less radiant as a performer, and Elephant deserves to be seen by a bigger audience; it continues to be a miniature powerhouse of a play.

Onstage alone, Lucas is completely transfixing. She tells us of the first moments she set eyes on her musical lover, as it was lifted through the windows of her council flat when she was seven. In later years comes another romance with Leo, a drummer who has grown up with all the privileges imaginable.

Jumping between her childhood, meetings with music labels and the present day, Elephant stuffs a lot into just 85 minutes. Lylah’s life plays out in short bursts; we see her school days, where she is determined to “always be good”, her family life, and her developing relationship with Leo. From working-class beginnings, Lylah begins to transcend class — at least on the surface, with a scholarship-funded London lycée education, an Oxford degree and a voice that sounds just “like the Queen’s”.

So, in adulthood, Lylah is confused, to say the least. Directed by Jess Edwards, Lucas physically bends and shrinks herself in meetings with musical bigwigs. They ask if she can sing with more soul, get rid of her posh accent, write less-clever lyrics, and fit into the shape of what they think someone like her should be. With each fresh blow, Lylah looks visibly weaker.

And the whole time, the elephant is there. The piano, with its ivory keys made from elephant tusks, stands as both a symbol of colonial violence and Lylah’s enduring companion. Lucas’s script details the brutal journey behind each instrument: first, the elephant is slaughtered, its tusks wrenched from its skull, then; historically, a group of enslaved people were tied together and forced to carry them on their backs. Elephants have funerals, too, Lylah informs us. The thing that finally lets out the anger she’s long been holding in is when she sees a baby grand piano in Leo’s parents' “drawing room”.

It's a speech that feels like a dam breaking. But it's far from the only moment in Edwards’ production that sends chills down our spines. Georgia Wilmot’s set has lanterns that change colour at emotional peaks. And Lucas’s piano playing and songs — all syrupy, silk and soars — are more than enough to prove she’s deserving of stardom. In these moments, Elephant transforms into something hypnotic; you simply can’t look away.

Elephant is at the Menier Chocolate Factory to 28 June. Book Elephant tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Photo credit: Elephant (Photos by Manuel Harlan)