As part of Hollywood Fringe - this year a virtual festival! - Talking Back Theatre have produced a piece of online theatre which is contemporary, relevant, and indeed is something that everyone needs to watch.
After extensive research and personal experience, Somebody Jones, an American living in London, has written a play which tackles the muddy waters of interacial relationships, in a very down-to-earth and accessible way. The play, adapted as a Zoom chat by director Khadifa Wong, shows us snippets of various conversations from an online suppport group for black women who have had, or presently have white boyfriends or husbands. Jones is from California, and as such her dialogue works much better when the characters are American, as most of the 5-strong cast are. It feels much more natural and flows easier. The speech is captured exactly as we speak, complete with erms and "likes", with fragmented conversations broken up and interrupted by another's thoughts. It's almost like being in the chatroom with them.
However, I am a mid-fifties, white, middle-class man who has never had anything more than a platonic friendship with a black person. And as one of the characters says, (paraphrased) "I can sympathise but I cannot empathise. It is a privilege for me that I am not aware of their issues." After watching this play though I have learned more, and although the issues raised do not resonate with me, I am able to understand that these issues shouldn't even be issues in the first place!
There is much humour and bonhomie - as well as vino - flowing through these half-conversations; but what this play does is raises awareness that these issues are not things which are talked about once and put on an 'agenda' for the next meeting and a resolution / agreement made and we move on; but instead these are issues which are so deep-rooted within the black community that these twenty-somethings - ie people who have never known the hardships, prejudice and treatment that their ancestors had to endure - are STILL enduring and having to endure prejudice, mistrust and even hatred on a daily basis. A section of the play deals with how the black girl on her own is treated differently by society than if she is with her white partner. I found that most illuminating. It shouldn't be like this.
The play is a timely wake-up call as the #BlackLivesMatter campaign has grown in strength and momentum recently over the death of George Floyd, and as theatre has the power to challenge and to inform, it also has the power to change, and change is necessary.
The play also works as a Zoom chat excellently. Our current situation vis-a-vis coronavirus has meant that the only medium available to us at the moment is computer-based, and as such this is a piece of work that can and should be seen by people all over the world, not just those who are regular theatre-goers - usually the white middle-aged middle-classes!
Merryl Ansah, Christelle Belinga, Arianne Carless, Clara Emanuel, and Risha Silvera all need equal credit for bringing these conversations and important issues to light in such an un-theatrical way. Acting to a small white dot on the top of a computer miles away from your fellow actors is not an easy ask for anyone, but it came acreoss as extremely natural, and it held my attention for the full 40 minute running time.
Change begins with conversation - and yes those conversations will be awkward ones, but necessary. And so lets have those conversations!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 22/6/20
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