For anyone who’s ever wondered how we sank so tamely into the quicksand of crapitalism, playwright Ed Edwards’ story of a working-class boy’s upbringing in Thatcher’s England offers a raw and unapologetic hypothesis. England & Son deftly unpacks the lasting impact and human cost of neoliberal policies rooted in colonialism. Award-winning actor Mark Thomas reveals the fangs of a cornered dog during this one-hour, no punches-pulled monologue that was written especially for him. Yet between body blows, there are tender sightings of an adolescent full of potential who, like all children, is desperate for parental approval and completely oblivious to the intergenerational trauma he is inheriting. While the boy’s father is at the centre of the play’s tension, England & Son delves deeper into darker aspects of society that fuels the family’s violence. Throughout the child’s journey from a troubled home to juvenile detention and foster care, he stitches his wounds together with needle-sharp humour. Edwards shows us that crisis and exploitation do not occur in a vacuum: the justice system often ends up dealing with the unintended consequences and collateral damage caused by government interventions that favour greed and cannibalistic privatisation. It’s rich fodder for a storyteller and this play is a standout production that will move you to both laughter and tears as Thomas twists and turns on the heartstrings of our collective consciousness.