The harsh challenges faced by post-Windrush Caribbean immigrants in the capital are brought vividly to life in this adaptation of Sam Selvon’s 1956 novella. Playwright Roy Williams has filleted and shaped the book’s mostly plotless 160 pages but preserved its (radical, in those days) patois narrative voice.
Young director Ebenezer Bamgboye crams seven characters, a large swathe of social history and a lot of rage, pride and hurt onto the tiny Jermyn Street stage. His use of design, music and dance to make a piece of total theatre don’t always come off, but his production is as bold as it is timely.
