Writer: Dave Harris
Director: Matthew Xia
“How can anyone know freedom in a world in which they are always being watched?”
Tambo and Bones are stuck in a minstrel show. It’s hard to know what’s real when you’re stuck in a minstrel 
show. They need to get out – but what then? Bones has a plan, he wants to make as much money as he can. But Tambo has other ideas – he wants to change the world, and not in a small way either.
A Made in Northampton production, this is a deeply provocative piece of theatre, comic and dangerous. There aren’t many productions where they have a Sensory Space available for every performance, along with qualified therapists on hand for any audience member who needs them during or after the show. Spanning 500 years of the past and future, it’s a satire on capitalism and the commodification of Black performance, asking questions about the world around us, and the Black experience of that world. If you’re not familiar with the piece, you won’t know what to expect – but it’s a fair bet that you won’t be expecting what you experience.
We follow Tambo and Bones through three periods of performance, at each point being pushed to reflect on who’s in control of this, who’s making money out of this? And, equally importantly, what is their racial heritage? We start with a minstrel show introducing an element of silliness which is a theme throughout the piece. It’s funny in a child-like way with many laugh-out-loud moments while subtly introducing the bigger themes – capitalism, and control. Then we move to a time where they’ve become hip-hop performers and questions arise about how to use fame. Is it just to make money, as Bones thinks, or can it be used for Tambo’s dream to change the lives of millions? Now they are superstars does that mean they have finally taken control or is someone else still pulling strings and making the big money – and how do you respond if someone with a different heritage steals your image to make money for themselves? Finally, we reach the future, in a nation torn apart by race where the lines between out-and-out capitalism and activism are starkly drawn.
Clifford Samuel (Tambo) and Daniel Ward (Bones) give massive performances as the title characters, and there’s hardly a moment when they are off stage. Showing a wide range of skills they move from clowning minstrels through high-energy hip-hop with only moments to reset in between, before breaking the fourth wall and turning into narrators for the final act. There’s excellent support from Jaron Lammens and Dru Cripps who demonstrate high levels of physical theatre skills that have the audience gasping with amazement. The nature of the piece also demands some outside-the-box thinking from set and costume designers Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and ULTZ, and lighting designer Ciarán Cunningham who have enhanced the experience with their work.
After a gently funny start, the jump into the second act comes as a jolt and from then on it’s non-stop stimulus, with no time to reflect on what you’re experiencing before the next question is asked of you. You think you know where it’s about to take you, then it hits you with something unexpected while you’re still processing the last point. The final moments are surprising and the piece ends with no closure, no way the audience can comfortably put what they’ve experienced into a box and close the lid, forcing them instead to take it all away with them.
It’s hugely thought-provoking, and an experience the like of which you possibly will not have come across before. It’s billed as a satire, which it is, but it’s far more than that too. It’s like taking the Black experience of the past couple of centuries, adding a possible future, then compressing it into two hours and unleashing it on the audience.
Powerful and unforgettable.
Runs until 25 March 2025 and on tour
