Writer and Director: Sadé Nicole
On stage and weaving in and out of the aisles, the body-positive, bouncing, twerking, swaying dancers bop to the pounding sound system and create a feel-good energy and carnival atmosphere even before the show starts. For one night only, the gilded interior of Hackney’s 1901 music hall, which in the past has been the venue for Louis Armstrong and Belle Davis, is the location of Jah Makin’ It Happen.
This new reggae musical, produced by Midlands-based, female-led G.A.P Entertainment and currently on nationwide tour, dramatises one family’s migration from Jamaica to London, including on the Empire Windrush in 1948. There have been other reggae musicals: Kingston-based The Harder They Come, based on the 1972 film and Get Up, Stand Up, the Bob Marley Musical, but Jah Makin’ It Happen is homegrown, an integral part of Black British history and woven into the lives of many.
Johnny Morgan, the protagonist played by Sean ‘Diamond’ McKenzie, is a hard-working family man and belts out song after song. After a hurricane decimates the island, including his place of work, an advert in a national newspaper invites him to England, where there will be opportunities, work and money. He leaves behind his wife, son and daughter and heads for the sceptred isle with Clarence, his trusted and hilarious sidekick, played by funny bones, Myki Tuff. Dressed to the nines, they board the Windrush Empire in 1948 for a new life in the UK.
Because the experience of the Windrush Generation has been so well documented, we know how this will play out. There are jobs—low-paid ones. There’s open discrimination, hostility and exploitation. But Morgan’s musical talent is soon spotted by Horgan Wise, his exploitative white boss (gamely performed by Simon Ashton). Johnny leaves labouring for a more lucrative life of performance and music, and after a year, buys his own house and sends for his family. His wife becomes isolated in the home and struggles with the endless grey on this colourless island: “Even the wallpaper need’ seasoning.”
The kinetic displays of performed shivering when the British cold first hit are very funny. When Johnny’s elegant wife Camilla, a poised performance by Euphemia Marks, takes a frying pan to the backside of her rebellious son Marlon (Imara-Zamar Hepburn), there is a cartoon-like hilarity. And the scenes inside the church where Camilla finds solace, community and comfort are more riotous than pious. On the flip side, the most moving song of the night is by daughter Kimmy, the debut of O’Livia McCollin, who heartbreakingly asks why she was born black, which leads into the uplifting song Black Pride.
Told in two acts—the first in Jamaica, the second in London—Jah Makin’ It Happen is very long, over three hours with an interval. There could easily be fewer songs without impacting the narrative. While there are too many slow, sentimental numbers about the happily married couple, there is a point to these because their love is soon tested. Additionally, recurring technical issues affected the quality of the sound, which is unfortunate,
Dramatised almost entirely in patois, this is theatre that can be enjoyed by all communities but has been created to serve audiences of colour whose stories and experiences are woefully under-represented in theatre. The Hackney Empire is full, and the community engagement is palpable; this story resonates. Despite many of its tough themes, including racism and police brutality, the song, dance and humour shine through with a committed cast and a good ratio of action to music. It might be a little rough around the edges, but this is an authentic and joyous piece with a big heart at its centre.
Reviewed on 17 June 2026 and continues to tour
