Big Aunty – Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

Director and Deviser: Corey Campbell

Shaun is nervously navigating his way through probably his most important online interview yet. The fates seem to be against him – first, his phone keeps ringing, then there are knocks at the door before it is flung open and Naomi and Marcus loudly burst in. With no choice, Shaun abandons the interview. But before he can remonstrate, he learns the devastating news that Big Aunty, the woman who raised them all, has died in Jamaica.

And it’s clear from the off – from the way Marcus and Shaun interact and from the bursts of tightly choreographed physical movement from the cast and community choir – that there’s history between these guys. They’ve drifted apart since Big Aunty was widowed and returned to Jamaica, but now they need to find a way to move on. It’s what she would have wanted for them.

So the trio set off the Aunty’s Nine-Night celebration. There’s a mixture of the solemn and raucous as we also meet some of the locals there to celebrate Aunty’s life. And we watch as the trio begin to move past her death and towards a more promising future.

Deviser Corey Campbell, who also directs and plays Marcus, brings us a series of glimpses into the protagonists’ lives that gel into a seamless whole. The economic use of movement and projection is well-judged to support the action, not detract from it. Claire Winfield’s set is most ingenious, with two large segments that move to form, among other things, an aircraft interior and the cemetery where Aunty is rather movingly laid to rest. And if the crowd scenes offer us a glimpse into the life and traditions of the Caribbean, it is the intimate scenes that are the hardest hitting and that leave us reeling from the impact. Even in the short time we know Marcus, Naomi and Shaun, we are able to empathise.

Alexia McIntosh brings us Naomi, the new voice of reason in Aunty’s absence. She tries to mediate between the boys, though is not above shouting at them when necessary. McIntosh gives a measured performance. One really feels for Shaun’s nervousness in Keiren Hamilton-Amos’ depiction of him. We can clearly see how opposing forces are pulling at him and the confusion that generates. Campbell’s Marcus physically dominates the stage but has a sensitive, even vulnerable side that is barely visible. It seems that Campbell gave the best lines to the other cast members as Marcus’ more introspective lines don’t have the same fluidity as the rest of the generally well-observed dialogue.

A little over an hour from the start and the whole is wrapped up, having taken us on a journey into the trio’s lives, past and present. It’s maybe a little short to do full justice to some of the themes that are touched on but not necessarily fully developed. Nevertheless, one can’t help but feel the emotional punch as the story unravels, as well as hope for their future, together as a unit once more.

Runs until: 6 May 2023