Writer: Shona Bukola Babayemi
There is a disarming candour at the heart of Boxes, a solo piece that draws directly from lived experience and asks its audience to sit with uncertainty, precarity, and endurance.
Written and performed by Shona Bukola Babayemi, the play unfolds as an autobiographical account of survival against long odds. It charts a life shaped by instability, displacement, and the constant negotiation of space – physical, emotional, and social – in a society not designed to accommodate those on the margins.
The production arrives at Soho Theatre following an earlier run at Peckham Theatre, and its intimacy suits the material. Babayemi’s performance is open and unguarded, delivered with a directness that resists embellishment. There is a quiet authority in the way the narrative is held, allowing moments of humour to surface naturally amid harsher truths. The storytelling is grounded rather than theatricalised, prioritising authenticity over spectacle.
The play positions itself as an exploration of hidden homelessness and defiance, peppered with cultural touchstones – custard creams, UK Garage, the incongruity of fine wine, and the sustaining power of food and fleeting human connection. These details add texture, though they occasionally feel more illustrative than fully integrated, sketched in where deeper excavation might have proved more revealing.
Structurally, the piece remains largely linear and reflective. At just over an hour, it holds attention through sincerity rather than momentum, and there are moments where the dramaturgy feels underdeveloped. The central metaphor of the box – an object from the past that anchors the narrative – is clear enough, but also somewhat overstated. As a title, Boxes feels a touch contrived, gesturing towards symbolism that the material itself does not always need. A focus on place, movement, and transience might have better captured the work’s true preoccupations.
That said, the play’s strength lies in its refusal to sensationalise hardship. Babayemi does not ask for pity, nor does she soften the edges of her experience. Instead, Boxes offers a measured, thoughtful reflection on resilience and the fragile systems that determine who is allowed stability and who is not.
This is a sincere and affecting piece, modest in scale but clear in intent. While it may not fully capitalise on its thematic potential, it remains a compelling platform for a voice worth hearing.
Reviewed on 3 February 2026
