Writer: Raphael Phillips
Director: Mojola Akinyemi
Mojola Akinyemi directs Monkeyface at Riverside Studios, with writer Raphael Phillips starring in this critically acclaimed solo performance. Monkeyface is poignant and emotional, but at times feels like it fails to reach its own potential.
The play begins with Pink Pantheress blaring as Phillips enters the stage. Monkeyface is based on Phillips’ own life, as he navigates university and student halls in London. Phillips, who went to Central Saint Martins before dropping out, describes through the play the sense of isolation felt at university and the difficulty with belonging.
This sense of Other is a recurring feature in the production, which looks at the difficulties in growing up as a gay Black man in the UK. Near the start, Phillips’ character meets Elijah, who he is initially enamoured by. The revelry is brought to an abrupt end by the homophobic lyrics of T.O.K’s Chi Chi Man playing at a party. This track confronts us with the hyper-tension in hyphenated identities. Phillips gets to showcase his strength as an actor in these scenes. He’s an attractive dancer, and something is touching in seeing him try to lose himself in club scenes, writhing in a kind of terminal aloneness.
Phillips plays all the characters in Monkeyface, utilising his impressive skills at voice acting. He delivers a, at times, striking performance. The dramatic elements of the play work best, and there should be more of them. A key issue, possibly the main issue, is that the play relies heavily on humour, and it isn’t very funny.
The set and costume are good, generally, Phillips using Tracey Emin’s iconic installation to help craft the unmade bed in his halls. Unlike the mania of Emin’s bed, however, the general untidiness of Valentina Turtur’s set is a little too curated to look like an authentic uni dorm.
Phillips takes inspiration from fellow playwright Travis Alabanza, and the influence is obvious to see, with segments of Monkeyface sounding perhaps a little too like Alabanza’s Overflow. Monkeyface is around 70 minutes long and is occasionally excellent. Phillips’ show has flecks of brilliance.
Runs until 21 July 2026
