Molly Davies’ play stands in a long, honourable and disquieting tradition including novels such as Lord Of The Flies and films like Village Of The Damned. It deals with that almost unthinkable moment when one of our dearest totems – the innocent child – metamorphoses into one of our darkest terrors: the child who knows, and in particular knows how to say “No” to us.
    
Davies makes it a little easier on us by having eight-year-old Louie kick against a ridiculous educational system overtly geared towards turning out compliant population units; in this regime, knowledge is far subordinate to conformity and manageability. So when the emblematic Badger Do Best comes up against Louie’s ability to say “Poo”, we’re inclined to poo right along with her. There’s also a blatant cop-out ending, with school staff allying with the children to see off the self-regarding Sali Rayner and her cuddly-toy regimentation, but we’re not inclined to spurn any relief from such frightening youthful self-possession.
    
Designer Chloe Lamford has turned the Upstairs space into a classroom, its walls lined with helpful (and badger-centric) illustrations and its space peppered with zones such as “the thinking toadstools” (a less judgemental version of the naughty step). Mercifully, the seating isn’t similarly child-sized. Vicky Featherstone has worked with her child cast with great success. On press night we saw the Green Team, with an implacable Louie played by Nancy Allsop; interestingly, the alternate Orange Team has a male Louis, which might well make for a different dynamic, especially since the entire adult cast is female. Amanda Abbington plays the odiously smug Sali, Ony Uhiara the class teacher driven to sick leave by Louie and her class rebellion, Nikki Amuka-Bird the principal compelled to whore her school in a scheme like this for basic funding, and the estimable Julie Hesmondhalgh is the no-nonsense teaching assistant.
    
It’s easy to misinterpret Davies’ view as critical of one political side or other, but it’s opposed to all attempts to corral and systematise children. It has a timely opening soon after British education minister Nicky Morgan tried it on by admonishing young people that choosing to study humanities subjects at school could “hold them back for the rest of their lives”.
     
Written for the Financial Times.