Writers: Kareem Parkins-Brown and Testament
Directors: Philip J Morris and Brigitte Adela
Featuring young Black creatives from their Talawa Firsts programme, Talawa Theatre kicks off its tour at home in its headquarters in Croydon’s Fairfield Halls. Comprised of two plays, the evening certainly demonstrates the talents of everyone involved, but perhaps both shows are a little too long at the moment meaning that that they don’t quite pack the punches they could.
Kareem Parkins-Brown’s Bougie Lanre’s Boulangerie is set in a restaurant in part of a city that is seeing gentrification. At the moment they serve chicken burgers and lamb chops with hummus, but a fancier French bistro has opened up next door. But rather than providing a narrative, Parkins-Brown presents snippets of life in the kitchen and sketches of the eccentric people who work there. It’s part monologue and part stand-up.
There’s Ahmed who’s never quite sure where he comes from: one day it’s Tunisia, the next, Sierra Leone. A Muslim who goes to church and gambles, Ahmed is quite a character. And then there’s Mercedes Benz who appears every now and then to tell a dad joke and a head chef who gives the staff magic mushrooms as they prep vegetables for the day’s service.
Parkins-Brown is an engaging presence on the simple stage and tells the stories with energy and passion, He also does well dealing with all the laughter he engineers. However, apart from a wonderful section about the hierarchy of wage-earning, you can’t help but wish there was more meat to his tales.
But the second play, Testament’s Love in Gravitational Waves has a very strong narrative, charting the relationships between a parliamentary researcher and a landscape gardener. They are as opposite as the sun and the moon, captured quite neatly in the moving stools that the two actors push around the stage. She’s posh, from Dulwich, a socialist. He’s from Huddersfield, right-leaning and a recovering drug addict. Their orbits should never align.
The two meet on a dating app. She’s late, condescending and privileged. He’s nervous but charming, although he can’t hope to parry against her clever banter. She’s odious in these early scenes. We don’t discover his views on women until later.
But as the play continues, Bronwyn drops her guard, revealing a kind heart and a vulnerability. And despite Ishmael’s traditional beliefs, he remains a decent man. Writer Testament’s message is that they could both learn from each other. Progress is made when opposing outlooks are discussed; Hegel’s dialectics in a way.
Naturally, this is a play after all, Bronwyn and Ishmael become friends but it’s more complicated than the average rom-com. Both actors (Anyebe Godwin and Kamilah Storey) settle quickly in their roles, although they are required to play other characters too. This is where the play founders perhaps. Storey’s policewoman makes sense to the plot, but Godwin’s singing Nigerian seems a little pointless, despite the laughs he brings. Some judicious editing could turn Love in Gravitational Waves into a tighter 60-minute drama.
As the two plays travel across the country, undoubtedly, they will get stronger. This intriguing double bill once again establishes Talawa Theatre as one of London’s most important companies.
Runs until 18 May and then continues to tour, returning to Fairfield Halls from 5 to 15 June 2024
The Reviews Hub Score
Double decker
