Ex- teacher and artist Nilaja Sun is a very brave woman. In the space of one hour, she personally depicts over 15 different characters in this one-woman play dealing with the education system in New York’s Bronx. It seems a hardcore subject matter (and it certainly is), but Nilaja comes packed with a great sense of humour, and impeccable comic timing, which expertly draws the audience into caring about the difficulties a drama teacher experiences when trying to encourage a class full of students who are seen as having no hopes and no dreams.
Although it takes a while to get used to the concept of Sun jumping from character to character, we soon find ourselves completely immersed in her world, wanting to know more about her experiences, her anecdotes and her insights. Moreover, Sun is great at creating very different characters in seconds, skillfully bringing their varying traits and entire personas to life.
Full of funny little asides and quirky touches, ‘No Child’ also deals with themes of social misunderstandings and stereotypes, the disenchantment of these youths with life, as well as job satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) and a teacher’s desperation at the education system.
It feels slightly overlong towards the last 15 minutes of the show, though, and finishes with an ‘happy ever after’ finale that somehow breaks with the realistic tone of the whole piece. However, the show as a whole makes up for the ending, and even then, no one can fault Sun for trying to give some hope to a situation that is clearly in need of attention and care.
4/5 
Adrian G. Velazquez
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