Writers: 18-25 Bush Young Company
Director: Katie Greenall
With much of the industry focused on Edinburgh and Camden Fringe, it is time for the young companies to take over some of London’s major off-West End stages, local community groups who have devised and performed their own show. And while the Almeida Theatre programmes responses to its main house play of the moment, the 18-25 Bush Young Company have created Communion, a 75-minute hymn to food, family and friendship directed by Katie Greenall.
With an 18-strong cast mixing monologues, acted scenes and dance, Communion is a democratic if slightly scattered reflection on sharing and celebrating different cultures – a simple and welcome message following the events of recent days. Shared meals are at the root of that connection and the Company take the audience through a series of sketches, a kaleidoscope exploration of fast-food joints, romantic dinners, FaceTime meals, family togetherness and coffee shop outings as a basis for bringing people into the same space to share their lives
Communion doesn’t move much beyond its concept to consider its many themes with more than a surface-level recognition in the 30 seconds to a couple of minutes that each contributor is allotted to share their perspective, yet the show, as a result, covers a lot of ground. Some of the most engaging are the descriptions of cooking and the cultural significance of particular cuisines that reflect the heritage of this community of performers; Nigerian, Ghanaian, Guyanese and Punjabi meals become the starting point for tales of carnival, relationship breakdown, grief and, in one of the strongest scenes, judgemental Indian aunties, all insights into something bigger that Communion aims for but cannot quite reach.
In what becomes a rather baggy structure, the individual pieces speak of foster families getting to know a newcomer over a shared repast, a group of young men laughing at each other’s food orders before sharing a prayer like brothers and an uncle questioning the communion he attends at the Catholic Church with his young nephew, all an opportunity to dig deeper into masculine affection and the recurring role of faith in these many ceremonies of food, an idea that surfaces occasionally before slipping away. Inequality, poverty and even eating disorders also receive simplistic references but never quite get the time such serious topics deserve.
But Communion is full of creativity, showcasing the varied talents of its cast, not least in the well-choreographed dance sections used sparingly but with impact, particularly in the unified finale that brings the full cast to the stage with a speech about belonging and the solidarity behind the creation of the performance, itself emerging through experiences of shared meals in local restaurants and cafes. It is a show that considers the many things that food can and does mean within the Shepherds Bush community and this is a promising effort from the Bush Young Company that with a tighter focus could be a feast.
Runs until 10 August 2024
