Writer: Ryan Calais Cameron
Director: Rob Watt
Theatre Centre’s production of Ryan Calais Cameron’s play, Human Nurture, tells the story of two young men, one black and one white, survivors of the social care system. They grew up like brothers but their roads have diverged and, whilst each seeks the same thing, a sense of belonging, they are finding it in very different ways.
Justice Ritchie’s Runaku, in a warm, expansive performance, has denounced his white-given name of Roger, has found his Ugandan roots with a family in the south of England and is preparing to go to university.
Harry, in a convincingly edgy performance by Lucas Button, is damaged and resentful, barely keeping a lid on his emotions. He has taken to venting his spleen on Tik Tok and has made friends with an unashamedly racist crowd. He doesn’t think he is racist because of his affection for Roger, as he insists on calling him, but he denies the concept of white privilege because he says his upbringing bore none of the marks of privilege.
The play begins with an onslaught of cultural references, sometimes hard to catch, as they go through their old rituals from childhood, conjuring favourite TV shows, games and music they shared plus, tellingly, the only DVD they owned, The Fox and The Hound. Runaku is focusing on what they share from the past because he is deeply uncomfortable with where Harry is now. The actors give a strong impression of the love the two characters have for each other, whilst hinting at the tensions beneath the surface.
When each tries to include the other in their current lives, the cracks widen, as Runaku is no longer willing to suppress his feelings and identity to accommodate Harry. Telling and retelling incidents from the past, he demonstrates what white privilege means. Will Harry move forward or is he too entrenched in his views?
The director, Rob Watt, has combined dialogue with well-executed and convincing physical theatre. Throughout, Neeta Sarl, as onstage musician, provides a persuasive and well-integrated musical punctuation to the action. There are some slight lags in the action towards the end and the set, dominated by a central dais of white blocks seems to constrain rather than facilitate movement. It could be symbolic of the obstacles between the two friends but it seems odd to give up the centre stage in this way.
Cameron’s work generally highlights the difficulties faced by black Britons in a society that has a long way to go before achieving real diversity. The point made here is that black identities matter, not just black lives. Also, that the need to belong can lead us down negative or positive paths. This is unashamedly issue-based theatre and so runs the risk of being seen to lecture the audience and, at times, the characters are given lines that sit a little uneasily in their mouths. Nevertheless, the performances bring real emotion and, if the play is working hard to make a point, it seems a point worth making.
Runs until 19th February 2022
