Almost 50 years on from its debut, Alfred Fagon’s play returns to the Hampstead Theatre, directed by Dawn Walton.
We didn’t expect a play with a name like this to be an easy watch, but The Death of a Black Man presents really quite a challenging evening at the theatre. Over the course of two hours it considers a range of big issues including race, gender, class and cultural appropriation. These are not nice and well-rounded characters; they all have their flaws, while their language and attitudes – which we’re sure are reflective of what was deemed acceptable in the early 1970s – make for uncomfortable viewing now. Expect homophobia, misogyny and antisemitism.
The show focuses on the lives of Shakie (Nickcolia King-N’Da), an 18-year-old living in an improbably nice flat in west London, his best friend Stumpie (Toyin Omari-Kinch), and Jackie (Natalie Simpson), the middle-class mother of Shakie’s child who has unexpectedly come to visit. We never meet the titular black man, but we learn that he is Shakie’s father and that he dies destitute and alone in Manchester. A talented musician, he is unable to get bookings other than pub gigs due to the colour of his skin.
There isn’t really a plot as such – the show focuses on a series of late-night conversations which explore the big issues. Against a backdrop of racial discrimination, Shakie and Stumpie are determined to make successes of themselves, whether that’s by selling “African Chairs” to affluent white people, or London water to American tourists. We get less of an insight into Jackie’s background and motives, and over the course of the show her situation becomes both quite improbable and extremely distressing.
The post The Death of a Black Man is a challenging consideration of race and gender – review appeared first on GAY TIMES.
The Death of a Black Man is a challenging consideration of race and gender – review
Almost 50 years on from its debut, Alfred Fagon’s play returns to the Hampstead Theatre, directed by Dawn Walton.
We didn’t expect a play with a name like this to be an easy watch, but The Death of a Black Man presents really quite a challenging evening at the theatre. Over the course of two hours it considers a range of big issues including race, gender, class and cultural appropriation. These are not nice and well-rounded characters; they all have their flaws, while their language and attitudes – which we’re sure are reflective of what was deemed acceptable in the early 1970s – make for uncomfortable viewing now. Expect homophobia, misogyny and antisemitism.
The show focuses on the lives of Shakie (Nickcolia King-N’Da), an 18-year-old living in an improbably nice flat in west London, his best friend Stumpie (Toyin Omari-Kinch), and Jackie (Natalie Simpson), the middle-class mother of Shakie’s child who has unexpectedly come to visit. We never meet the titular black man, but we learn that he is Shakie’s father and that he dies destitute and alone in Manchester. A talented musician, he is unable to get bookings other than pub gigs due to the colour of his skin.
There isn’t really a plot as such – the show focuses on a series of late-night conversations which explore the big issues. Against a backdrop of racial discrimination, Shakie and Stumpie are determined to make successes of themselves, whether that’s by selling “African Chairs” to affluent white people, or London water to American tourists. We get less of an insight into Jackie’s background and motives, and over the course of the show her situation becomes both quite improbable and extremely distressing.
The post The Death of a Black Man is a challenging consideration of race and gender – review appeared first on GAY TIMES.
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