In these wretched days of the end-game of the welfare state, the Bush's terrific two-play Schools Season is both a shot in the arm and a knife in the heart. If this is the present - and future - of education here, we've got a whole lot to worry about.
The Knowledge, by John Donnelly, looked at a failing comprehensive and now Steve Waters turns to that loaded Coalition issue, free schools.
Separated middle-class Shepherd's Bush fortysomethings Rachel (Claire Price) and Martin (Richard Henders) cannot agree on where to send
12-year-old son Sam. The entire education debate is played out in the crucible of this broken relationship.
Waters perceptively captures the ages-old clash of political idealism and personal needs, as Rachel, a teacher at the "challenging" local comp, tentatively joins a group of parents planning a free school. Even so, there are a couple of character shifts too many once this group meets DoE bureaucrat Polly, played by a show-stealing Joanne Froggatt as both irony-free and razor-sharp.
There are superb performances all round in Nathan Curry's sparky production, and it's especially pleasing to see Price and Susannah Harker, two outstanding actresses bewilderingly infrequently seen on our stages, in such fine form.
In rep until Feb 19. Information: 020 8743 5050, bushtheatre.co.uk
Little Platoons
The Bush Theatre
Goldhawk Road, Shepherd's Bush, W12 8QD
