The Children’s Inquiry review – exhilarating political musical about kids in care

The Children’s Inquiry review – exhilarating political musical about kids in care

Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London
Soulful anthems with hard-knock lyrics cover 150 years of British care system history in a sophisticated show from Lung theatre company

We’re a long way from Annie. The Children’s Inquiry is a questing musical about kids in care – there are no moppet antics or life-changing benefactors. Instead, the pioneering theatre company Lung pursue the changing British care system over 150 years, exposing the heartbreakingly arbitrary way in which children’s fates can be sealed. It’s drenched in disappointment yet somehow hangs on to hope.

Four young people shared their stories with writers Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead. Threading through the piece, they remind you that children in care can be living other people’s bad choices; that a crisis can spin your life off course; that you can ache for the family that let you down. All four are incredibly resilient – but must they be, just to navigate childhood?

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