A bold, bilingual heist that fuses playful chaos with sharp political bite, demanding visibility for Latinx voices long erased.
I’ve been aware of the strange omission of Latinx people from the UK census for some time, brought to my attention by both activists and friends. Having grown up in a community with latinx people, and finding myself in a community with them today, this has always felt an inconsiderate and unrepresentative choice. This omission is precisely what My Uncle is not Pablo Escobar seeks to recover, starring four latinx women from different backgrounds as they engage in a heist, a storyline interwoven with wacky intermissions that speak more directly to the issue at hand.
The main thread follows Alejandra (Yanexi Enriquez), a young woman studying for her A-levels whilst holding down a cleaning job at the bank. When her sister Catalina (Lorena Andrea), a prominent journalist, arrives, asking for a favour, Catalina soon finds herself dragged into an investigative operation tasked with taking down a major bank for money laundering. The writers Valentina Andrade, Elizabeth Alvarado, Lucy Wray, and Tommy Ross-Williams, and Joana Nastari (quite the team), do an excellent job making clear the mechanisms of exploitation being committed by this bank, whilst injecting the story with an apt amount of fun and silliness. I found the explanations relatively easy to follow, quite a feat given the amount of information covered. This created further investment in the story, and it was particularly rewarding when the bank itself is actually named, tying this heist to HSBC’s 2012 money laundering scandal. I love that the show is another contribution to not letting them live this one down and not letting us forget, so much so I think that moment could be made even a little bit more clear.
The main tension with the show comes from its need to tackle its grievances head on, and a want for a humane, nuanced story. I think the fact that the show is best understood by a bilingual spanish/english speaking person is a very interesting linguistic choice that is complimentary to the entirety of the play. The intermission parts did a great job taking us out of the natural world of the play, reminding us that we were watching a very visceral demand for representation. At their best, these parts were funny, revelatory, and brought the room together. Some felt a little heavy handed, underlying points shoehorned in more bluntly, such as a line chanted “British not Borders”. Whilst it would have been nice to have had these points woven more neatly into the play, they felt necessary nonetheless, and made me consider exactly the tension this cast and creative team were working with. Because, if a group of people are made so systemically invisible, how subtle can you really ask them to be? I’d ask for nuance from any good story, but here, the overall frankness was by no means offputting
The cast performed brilliantly with excellent chemistry. The sister’s tension felt fully realised with standout performances by both Enriquez and Andrea. Cecilia Alfonso-Eaton was a fun inclusion in the cast, bringing a lightheartedness that felt true and grounded. Nathaly Sabino had a surprisingly moving portrayal of Honey, a victim of the play and its antics. The consequences were felt, inflicted by a system unappreciative of its necessary migrant workers. There is an underlying story of tragedy for each character, making their unabashed joy even more appreciated.
It’s worth mentioning the excellently dynamic set and lighting, designed by Tomás Palmer and Roberto Esquenazi Albakes respectively. There are some hilarious choices here, giving the cast great ground to play on. I would suggest the captions be moved lower to ensure better visibility for all, and when mixing voiceover recordings with live microphone speech, the volumes needed to be more aligned for better clarity. But the design of the play overall compliments its fun, often silly, nature.
There is a lot of love poured into My Uncle is not, owing to its extensive list of collaborators. This alone shows just how present the community is in ours, and recognition of this is not up for question. With My Uncle is not, the show is now getting a full run at Brixton House, one that is definitely worth a watch.
My Uncle is Not Pablo Escobar is at Brixton House until May 3rd.