Sule Rimi as Turnbo and Leanne Henlon as Rena
(Picture: Manuel Harlan)Set in an all-male, all-black minicab office in Pittsburgh in 1977, August Wilson’s play is a thrillingly vivid slice of history that resonates powerfully today. Five guys bitch and banter in a grim, strip-lit office, interrupted by fares, family members and occasional flashpoints of rage.
Director Tinuke Craig powerfully evokes a sense of economic precariousness - of people just scraping by while wealthy white folks stand poised to hoover up and gentrify their territory. She also nails the bluster and the awkward intimacy of men who are colleagues but not friends. Though clumsily but necessarily confined to a literal box by designer Alex Lowde - this is a co-production with with Headlong and Leeds Playhouse, touring to different venues - the performances here are superb.
