Writer: Cal-I Jonel
Director: TD Moyo
At 24 Keloughn gave up his dreams of being a big star to become a music teacher. “Music was my woman” he tells us plaintively. Now aged 35 he is stuck as department head in an urban comprehensive with an overfamiliar boss called Cliff, a colleague named Becky who bleeds middle-class microaggressions, and a severe crisis of confidence. Home life is not much better. Posh fiancée Carmel, whom Keloughn loves but does not seem to like very much, wants him to man-up, get that promotion to be assistant head, and join her in tasting desserts for their upcoming nuptials.
Things seem to perk up when Keloughn (Cal-I Jonel who also writes both text and lyrics) uploads a song called Cheesecake and Wine that goes viral. An unexpected call from “Young And Thirsty Records” brings a tantalising opportunity for the music industry fame our protagonist always dreams of. We want you to be Kanye-esque the ghastly A&R manager tells him. “I’m too old to make money rapping and singing” worries Keloughn, but is he? Is it finally time to “give up dreaming and start winning”, or will the teacher’s tendency to self-sabotage at every opportunity get the better of him? Jonel is a secondary school teacher turned actor so one suspects at least some of this is semi-autobiographical.
No More Mr Nice Guy is produced by much admired creative collective Nouveau Riche, whose artistic director Ryan Calais Cameron penned the critically acclaimed hit For Black Boys…. Jonel’s blend of storytelling techniques – an eclectic episodic mashup of stand-up, prose, verse, gig RnB and rap, sound effects, and physical theatre – carry some echoes of Cameron’s work, even if his theme is a great deal more domestic.
Jonel sings beautifully, particularly in the upper ranges, aided by a tremendous Hannah Ledwidge on drums and Terry Smiles on keyboards. There is much to admire in his writing too, which at its best is witty, fresh, and painfully honest.
To his credit, Jonel eschews any temptation to let his character off the hook. Keloughn emerges as his own antagonist: a deeply flawed and sometimes unlikeable character, unable to acknowledge his failing mental health or ask for help, determined to blame others for his plight. “You make me feel dead inside,” he tells Carmel during a brutal row and in some respects he is. Cameron’s For Black Boys…. urges young Black British men to take more responsibility for their lives. One wishes Keloughn would go see it. No More Mr Nice Guy’s ending, assured and gritty, feels just right.
Runs until 16 March 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Music teacher dreams big.
