DramaLondonReview

Trouble in Butetown – Donmar Warehouse, London

Reviewer: Jane Darcy

Writer: Diana Nneka Atuona

Director: Tinuke Craig

Trouble in Butetown is a warm-hearted drama set in WW2 in the district of Butetown, part of what was then Cardiff’s Tiger Bay. In the period it was a thriving port, welcoming workers from all over the globe, a poor but vibrant place to live and work. It’s worth reading the two thoughtful pieces in the programme about life in Butetown in the period.

Diana Nneka Atuona focuses on 24 hours in the lives of a single household. Sarah Parish is impressive as the widow Gwyneth, bringing up her mixed-race daughters alongside Uncle Patsy and lodgers, Dullah and Norman. Older daughter Connie (a lively Rita Bernard-Shaw) longs to join up with the RAF and see the world. Georgie (tonight Rosie Ekenna) is her younger sassie sister. We also meet Connie’s friend, Peggy. This amounts to a lot of characters to introduce, so there is a fair amount of conventional exposition. Zephryn Taitte as the cheeky chancer Norman, however, is the real scene-stealer, far removed from the straitlaced Cyril he plays in Call the Midwife. There are some entertaining pieces of period scene-setting in which Connie is persuaded to sing a song, accompanied by Norman, or when someone puts on a dance LP and everyone gets up to jive.

The first half ends with that traditional trope: the ominous knock on the door. The second half begins a split second later. Enter Detective Hughes and Officer Reid, searching for a Black GI, alleged to be a murderer, who is on the run. Needless to say we’ve already met him: he’s the highly likeable Nate (Samuel Adewunmi) who, separated from his cousin Harlem, comes across sassy Georgie and forms a bond with her. Gwyneth has invited the runaway in, thereby demonstrating the general golden-heartedness of Butetowners.

To be honest, all of the second half of the play works like a soap opera, with a speedy series of events, but no real drama. The chief plot points of the ending are clearly signalled. Director Tinuke Craig keeps the show moving with pace and there are some well-choreographed fight scenes but it’s all likeable, if traditional, story telling.

Runs until 25 March 2023

The Reviews Hub Score

Likeable but traditional

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The Reviews Hub London is under the acting editorship of Richard Maguire. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

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