93.2FM. To 16 September.
London
93.2 FM
by Levi David Addai
Royal Court (Jerwood Theatre Upstairs) To 16 September 2006
Mon0Sat 7.45pm Mat Sat 4pm
Runs 1hr 20min No interval
TICKETS: 020 7565 5000
www.royalcourttheatre.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 9 September
Early script elaborated by strong performances.
Nestling somewhere near BBC Radio 3 by my wavelength count, are the very different sounds of South London Black station Borough FM. Run by Malachi and Jerome, this small, young enterprise sees itself as independent and different. Between the music are the phone-ins which Coach, fitting his name, uses to help people’s lives. As does the third presenter, level-headed Patricia.
Tensions develop when Coach decides to go mainstream, a sensible ambition which Jerome views as the betrayal of what Borough stands for. Coach’s also having personal troubles from immature brother Anton and capricious girlfriend Delisha, who flies off the handle when things aren’t done her way. This fine portrait of someone totally self-absorbed is beautifully played by Ashley Madekwe with a volubility and assertiveness of movement that notices no-one else.
Borough FM’s filled with strongly characterised performances, including Ofo Uhiara’s broad-shouldered Coach, dealing philosophically with both the sparky Delisha and the angry Jerome. Richie Campbell’s Jerome, not above a bit of private self-promotion at Coach’s expense for all his principle, is as fine. Lorna Brown gives Patricia, ever-dependable but not willing to let the men get away with partying upstairs while she holds the airwaves together, a zesty sympathy.
There’s well-characterised work too from Seroca Davis’s young Keisha on the sidelines, while Emmanuel Idowu’s confusion as Anton, when given more responsibility than he can cope with, fills in an underdeveloped character. His final dithering alone in the studio is clearly acted though neither character nor situation has been fully developed by the script.
Throughout, there’s a sense of acting and production skills (including Soutra Gilmour’s micro-right detailed set) veiling the script’s thinness. Levi David Addai writes good dialogue but the situations he contrives are familiar ones while his characters tend to have one quality, any complexity coming from the production. Eventually the wealth of performance skills overweighs the simple plot and characterisation, sending credibility toppling.
It’s a short run in a small theatre and it may give a playwright of the future a worthwhile boost in confidence. But he’ll need to look to his laurels rather than sit on them.
Omar Gooding: Will Beer
Patricia Gayle: Lorna Brown
Jerome (Bossman) Bartley: Richie Campbell
Keisha Walker: Seroca Davis
Anton (Talent Scout) Walker: Emmanuel Idowu
Delisha Taylor: Ashley Madekwe
Malachi (Coach) Walker: Ofo Uhiara
Director: Dawn Walton
Designer: Soutra Gilmour
Lighting: Nicki Brown
Sound: Adrienne Quartly
Assistant director: Rae McKen
2006-09-13 00:15:03