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Confetti of themes and taboos is a challenge
STATEMENT OF REGRET
Cottesloe Theatre
THIS is an odd play. It is as though writer Kwame Kwei-Armah, sparked by the unique success of Elmina’s Kitchen, has been told to produce something equally cracking – now.
The result is this rather strange pastiche of aired taboos (gay black men, African versus African-Caribbean etc), middle-class black high-achievers and office, media and family politics.
It’s a jumble, with a political public relations think tank’s first-generation Caribbean head Kwaku Mackenzie (Don Warrington), formerly known as Derek, causing a stir with his reparations-to-West-Indians-only message.
At his shoulder, as he does a Jonny Rotten on a London TV current affairs show, is his secret illegitimate son, whose PhD entitles him to have ideas above his station.
This is much to the fury of the legitimate son and Kwaku’s wife. She is African, so you get the African versus African-Caribbean battle in microcosm.
Unfortunately, this is the point at which miscasting and a confetti of themes causes problems. Warrington still has the well-honed vowels of his Rising Damp days and so is too posh to be a brash, self-made West Indian business leader.
His son, Kwaku Mackenzie Jnr (Javone Prince), looks and sounds a British West Indian of what is meant to be an African mother, while illegitimate son Adrian Mackenzie (Clifford Samuel) looks and sounds a lot more African.
Warrington’s clinch with voluptuous office titbit Angel Coulby, as researcher Issimama Banjoko, lacks passion and danger.
Only three characters really work: Ellen Thomas’s forthright African wife, Colin McFarlane’s wise office colleague and Chu Omambala’s gay firebrand Idrissa.
Oscar James as dead grandfather Soby, who appears as Kwaku has some sort of mental breakdown, is an appendage, albeit a noble one.
A spaghetti bolognese of ideas and characters with little to unify it all, unfortunately. Not the playwright’s finest hour. |
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