Theatre review: Chiaroscuro

After the explosion of new female artistic directors of London theatres earlier this year, this month sees the start of them all debuting in their new roles with productions that will inevitably be seen in part as a mission statement. It's something Lynette Linton acknowledges at the Bush: It's overwhelmingly a new writing venue but being the opener for a new regime can put a different kind of pressure on a premiere so I can understand Linton's motives for kicking off with a revival. In her introduction to the show, the director says she wants an ongoing theme at the Bush to be the stories of queer women of colour, so Scottish Poet Laureate Jackie Kay's 1986 play Chiaroscuro fits the bill. Meanwhile integrating the music that formed part of the play, so that the women performing are also making their own music - something that becomes integral to the play's themes - gives the show its own identity.

Aisha (Preeya Kalidas) has two close friends she'd desperately love to get on with each other, because of the support she's got from both in the past; so she keeps trying to bring them together, despite all the signs being that they can't stand the sight of each other.

Beth (Shiloh Coke, also composing the music) is in a new relationship with Opal (Anoushka Lucas,) who until meeting Beth had never had an inkling she might be attracted to another woman. Yomi (Gloria Onitiri) is an outspoken single mother, who's talked into going to a feminist weekend retreat by Aisha, and enjoys it except for the suspicion that the place was full of lesbians. Failing to take the hint that her friend might be trying to tell her something about herself, Yomi takes an instant and undisguised dislike to Beth when introduced to her (Beth's heritage is from St Vincent, Yomi's from Nigeria, and that seems to put a line under proceedings right from the off,) and becomes outright hostile when her suspicions about her sexuality are confirmed.

But Chiaroscuro isn't as combative as this all the time, and despite the comparatively short running time Coke and Lucas succeed in making Beth and Opal one of those couples you really want to make it even as you worry they won't (if for no other reason than it's a drama and everything going smoothly would bring it to a halt.) Yomi is inevitably the hardest character to like, with her rock-solid conviction in her own rightness - and in a play so rooted in people finding their own identity, there's something downright villainous in her determination to choose labels for others (with terms like "mixed-race" and "biracial" not yet in popular use, Opal doesn't accept the more offensive "half-caste" and calls herself black because that's how others see her; Yomi rejects the idea that she can do this.) On the other hand, in a play that for the most part feels very up-to-date, you've got to acknowledge the 30+ years' dissonance from when the character was written: An offhand reference to AIDS reminds us of the climate Yomi is living in, and while in 2019 someone spouting the things she does really should know better, in 1986 there is an element of sympathy in the way Kay portrays her inability to understand and accept.

The description of Chiaroscuro as "gig-theatre" feels inaccurate to me*; this is certainly a much quieter, gentler affair than the likes of Misty (which Coke was also in) and is essentially a spoken-word play that very occasionally breaks into song. The musical moments are very much central to the storytelling though, as the women's journey into expressing their own identity is shown as them trying to put words to their songs, and finally doing so for a triumphant finale. Well-acted with Coke again suggesting she's going to be a scene-stealer to look out for, Chiaroscuro is a moving and entertaining evening that creates its characters with a lot of warmth.

Chiaroscuro by Jackie Kay is booking until the 5th of October at the Bush Theatre.

Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Johan Persson.

*is "gig-theatre" going to be the next "immersive," used to describe everything no matter how tangentially it applies?