Stop And Search – Arcola Theatre, London

Writer: Gabriel Gbadamosi

Director: Mehmet Ergen

Reviewer: Grace Patrick

The insular, slightly claustrophobic atmosphere of the Arcola Theatre’s Studio 2 is perfectly suited to Gabriel Gbadamosi’s Stop And Search. As the lives of the small cast of characters run rings around one another, unable to ever really escape their influence upon one another, the looming spectre of the past fills the space.

Making use of London as many plays have before- as a place for paths to cross and stories to be concluded- much of Stop And Search’s narrative relies on the audience being able to see the impact that characters have upon one another. However, this is not entirely without fault. Due to certain facets of the way this story is structured, the audience is often able to be aware the history that characters share where they themselves can not be. Therefore, whereas these plot twists can be narratively satisfying for the audience, they are far less fulfilling for the actual development of characters.

With that said, many of the performances in this piece were very impressive. Tyler Luke Cunningham, playing a young trans police officer dealing with the constraints of an unaccepting workforce, captures the frustration of having identity frequently disregarded or disrespected. At the same time as this, Munashe Chirisa’s Akim brings a valuable sense of perspective, offering a more meditative and detached look at the tribulations of, essentially, life in a society that doesn’t always value life.

Eleanor Bull’s set design leans heavily towards the simple and effective. Giving the character only what they really need, she leaves the text to speak for itself and do its own work. However, this doesn’t fully pay off. The pacing of this piece often feels quite flawed: important lines are frequently all but skipped, and moments with less overall value to the story are stretched out. This is a great shame, because so many of the lines of the discussion in this play are extremely important and could greatly benefit from being given a little more time to grow.

The issues with Stop And Search do not lie in its concept. It asks a plethora of challenging but pertinent questions, offering no answers but plenty of different angles. Its structure allows the audience to gain varied perspectives on each character, breathing some life into them. Despite this, it could be improved by a more conscious approach to its onstage form in order to ensure the moments of weight are given the gravitas that they really deserve.

Runs until 9 February 2019 | Image: Idil Sukan