Songs from Play On! – Birmingham Hippodrome

Book: Cheryl L West

Music: Duke Ellington

Director: Michael Buffong

It must be a theatre company’s worst nightmare – it’s press night and the lead is unwell. To make matters worse, the understudy is similarly indisposed, so plans are quickly made for a ensemble member to step in – then illness strikes again. This is the scenario that Talawa Theatre Company faced last night. Some cliches address this – The Show Must Go On, and When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade. And that’s just what Talawa Theatre Company did. With only a short delay to starting, they presented a cut-down concert version of their show, Play On! – calling it Songs from Play On! – that served to act as a showcase for what the company can do and whet the appetites of those present.

Director Michael Buffong acted as an impromptu master of ceremonies, providing some background and links between the songs they could present. While there was little dialogue, there was some terrific singing and dancing on display, taking the music of Duke Ellington and giving it a contemporary twist.

There was plenty of humour from Jester (Llewellyn Jamal) who performed with a wicked glint in his eye, and the hapless Rev (Cameron Bernard Jones) as he tried to win the heart of Lady Liv (Koko Alexandra). The developing story between Sweets (Lifford Shillingford) and Miss Mary (Tanya Edwards) was also a delight.
The joyful choreography, from Kenrick H2O Sandy, is contemporary – fluid yet precise, performed by an ensemble that seems to defy the laws of both gravity and biology. And the voices! It would have surprised no one had the roof flown away during Alexandra’s powerhouse performance of I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But The Blues.

So this was not the performance the audience was expecting when they bought their tickets – but fair play to Talawa, they managed to pull a brilliant rabbit from the hat.

Runs until 9 November 2024 and on tour