Review of UoN Fringe: Thug by Ekdikesis Theatre at The Platform, Northampton

Thug from Ekdikesis Theatre and it's solo performer Rhianne Brown brings an uncompromising and challenging piece of theatre to the stage. Based on the Angie Thomas book The Hate U Give, it explores the treatment of black people in society, most especially the constant suggestion that they are the main culprits of crime.

This is a tough watch for someone like me, and not because of any form of guilt. Without boasting, but perhaps somehow needing to state, I have never in my life had any racist, gender or any such opinion, therefore to listen to thirty minutes of the issues of being black and those problems around it, and the white privilege issue is a challenge. It makes you uncomfortable, and sure that is the point.

For a theatre piece to generate a paragraph above is wonderful though, in so many respects, Thug challenges everyone in the room, and let us hope that it lies on the thoughts of just one person who has perpetrated any hate in any way.

Brown is a tour-de-force in this show, patrolling a set strewn with slogans on boards depicting things such as "Black boys are not a threat" and "A hairbrush is not a gun". At the opening of the play, she is Starr, who finds Khalil, a longterm friend at a club. Quickly a shooter is active at the club and he rescues her. Later, however, they are pulled over and Khalil at the hands of a suspecting police officer is restrained and dies.

Its an extremely sad story, but unfortunately, while this is a fictional account, these events continuing to happen within modern society, and this powerful tale manages to bring these sorry events to life in a stirring way.

While this show never uses video, technically it is still cleverly done, with powerful use of audio and some excellent lighting, the riot sequence is an impactful scene in itself.

There is no way that you can enjoy a show like this, it's one to admire, and regard the quality. It does its job clearly, as it is a very tough watch, and Brown throws her heart into every part of it and is really quite excellent. An emotional rollercoaster.

Performance reviewed: Saturday 24th March 2018 at The Platform, Northampton.

The UoN Fringe ran between Friday 23rd and Monday 26th March 2018.

Review of & Juliet at Milton Keynes Theatre

First performed in 2019, & Juliet has become quite a global success, and now, as part of a UK Tour, it has arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre for a two-week run. Featuring a book by David West Read, it tells the what-if story of the survival of Juliet at the end of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet . Primarily a jukebox musical, it more specifically features the works of Swedish songwriter Max Martin (and friends, as the credits describe). The question is, does & Juliet provide more than the standard of many a jukebox musical before it, and does it honour the tragic tale from which it has sprung? Our story opens with William Shakespeare presenting his latest work, Romeo & Juliet , for the first time. However, when his wife, Anne Hathaway, learns how he intends the tale to end, she is away with his quill and planning on her reworking of the story. At the core of this touring production's success is Geraldine Sacdalan's powerhouse performance as Juliet. Her Juliet ...

Review of Northern Ballet - The Great Gatsby at Milton Keynes Theatre

This production of The Great Gatsby performed by Northern Ballet was my fifth encounter at the theatre of a full ballet production and as before, I happily share my review of the show with nearly zero knowledge of-the-art form and more of a casual theatre-goer. You could say that this is a poor direction to come in on a review, but I would say that casual audience are the ones to review this for. Over the years, Northern Ballet has set quite a high benchmark for ballet productions, and any audience member who is worth their salt as a ballet fan would no doubt have tickets for this new touring version of the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby , lovingly created by David Nixon OBE. So much is Nixon part of the very fabric of this show, that he not only provides the choreography and direction but also the initial scenario and costume design (assisted by Julie Anderson). So, discounting those ballet fans already sitting in the audience, what does this offer for the more casual theatre-goer ...

Review of Tambo & Bones at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Tambo & Bones , first performed in 2022, is a deliberately provocative play by Dave Harris, currently performing at Royal & Derngate, one of the co-creating theatres of this touring version. It is a powerful piece created in three acts that does not shy away from controversy and offence. However, does that all culminate in a piece of theatre worth your attention? Our opening sees Tambo and Bones, two black entertainers, named in history from names inspired by their accompanying instruments (here the tambourine and bone castanets) tasked with entertaining a white audience in the Minstrel show they find themselves involved in. Following their discovery, from a moment of audience observation, that everything is not what it seems, Tambo and Bones embark on a crusade of fighting back at history that has seen them trodden down. Writer Harris doesn't mince his words in describing the power whites have held over blacks for centuries. Without question, moments are deliberately uncom...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

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