Synopsis
Suzie Klan is an articulate, intelligent, strong minded university student of Asian heritage. She has the world before her as she looks to forge a career for herself in international banking. Dean Stanley is a pleasant young man with a job as a Council gardener. The two share an easy-going romantic relationship in spite of the very different worlds from which they come, and the social groups in which they circulate.Liz is Suzie's best friend. She is modern and forthright. Jacko is Dean's rough-around-the-edges best mate, while Ozzie is their off-sider, a "typical bloke" with basic philosophies.
These worlds come crashing together with the news that Suzie is pregnant. Dean wants to do the "right thing" and marry Suzie. But what is the right thing? How will Suzie's protective and ambitious father react? And what of Dean's father Walter, a bombastic father from a blue collar background? Or Jean, Dean's routinely romantic mother, who has the capacity to make the best of the future, regardless of the situation.
The tension mounts as the play unfolds and we are privy to the various pressures and attitudes that Dean and Suzie are subjected to, and this, by its very nature, gives us insight into the values of the people who occupy their different worlds.
The Right Thing is a play in two acts and features simple sets. A feature of Richard Yaxley's work is his ability to weave the various stories together, often switching from one scene to another, then back again, with irony upon irony presented to the audience.
The Right Thing creates a scenario where "the right thing" cannot be achieved for all the characters. However the play climaxes with a clever ending which gives credibility to all the events and attitudes which have gone before.
A great play examining social and moral values. Eight great characters of varied ages.