For several years I did volunteer work at a residential centre for young male offenders. During that time I had plenty of opportunities to witness the various authoritative styles of the workers. Some were clearly less effective than others. The worst among them would resort to yelling and threats and finger wagging at the first sign of trouble. Needless to say this often led to escalation.
I do not underestimate the stress these workers were under, and many of them seemed for the most part to be adequate for the role. But during those years I did meet the rare special breed of worker. Irreverent enough to be their charges' friend. Authoritative enough to demand respect. Compassionate enough to earn real affection. It’s these people that I thought of when I first met ‘Gran’.
Gran is an impressive addition to Australian comedian Chris Lilley’s gallery of lovable misfits. One of the stars of Lilley's latest series Angry Boys on ABC1, Gran, a worker at a residential centre for young offenders, is an exaggerated version of these de facto parental figures. She encapsulates Lilley’s greatest strengths as a writer and performer; he captures her humanity while gently taking the piss.
Lilley has been called a one trick pony. Angry Boys, like his previous series, We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High, is notable for its mockumentary style and for Lilley’s appearance as multiple lead characters. But it’s unfair to call it a rehash. Each series adds to the gallery of characters. Each character is thoroughly researched and lovingly portrayed, and their humanity upheld.
Gran is a case in point. It’s true that the first episode dwells on her casual racism towards the boys. For a football scratch match she divides them into teams based on skin colour (to one boy who misunderstands the instruction: 'I know you're an Aborigine but you're a pale skin'), and yells racist epithets from the sidelines. This seemed like a grab for cheap nasty laughs.
The episode ended, however, with Gran comforting a boy with hugs and tissues as he sobbed violently, perhaps missing his own family and his life and friends on the outside. The boys have made bad life choices, Gran says in voiceover, but 'they're still boys'. This reveals more of Gran's true nature than do the comedic elements of the character.
To end the episode in such a moving way is a statement of Lilley's purpose. He