EMERGENCE-SEE! To 2 November.

London

EMERGENCE-SEE!
by Daniel Beaty.

Riverside Studios, Hammersmith To 2 November 2007.
Tues – Sat 8pm Sun 6.15pm.
Runs 1hr 30min No interval.

TICKETS: 020 8237 1111.
www.riversidestudios.co.uk
Review: Harriet Davis 11 October 2007.

A well-acted one man show fresh from success at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Daniel Beaty has a nifty premise; a phantom slave-ship rises from the mists of the Hudson River, and positions itself directly in front of the Statue of Liberty. The ship is aptly named The Remembrance, and is to become a focus point for black communities all over New York. Is it time to re-examine the nation’s painful past? Or are some things better forgotten?

At the centre of the play are two brothers, Rodney and Freddie, whose desperate efforts to reach their father – who has taken hold on the ship’s mast – takes them on an eventful journey through the lives of those affected by slavery and racism. A transsexual prostitute tells of her indifference to the cause, while a Jamaican man muses on the universal colour of bones. A successful businessman tries to distance himself from his ancestors, while a policeman habitually harasses an African-American.

Downtown, a poetry competition is getting under way. A frustrated beat-poet comments on the damning influence of Bling culture, while his younger brother tells of how he is often accused of being ‘white’. Beaty employs a fluid mixture of monologue, song and verse, easily negotiating age and gender. He has a strong presence and a powerful voice, and performs with obvious passion.

Despite this, there are long passages which feel distinctly sermon-like, and Beaty frequently flirts with cliché. The central story – about a father who rejects his roots – is among the least interesting, his discussions with the mythical figure at the top of the mast reaching a tired and well-worn conclusion. Where Beaty really gets it right is in the smaller, self-contained anecdotes; a foul-mouthed tramp recalling in glorious detail the taste of his mother’s pound cake, a deluded young black man who cheerfully attempts to convince us he is white.

Beaty’s writing is often witty, and he makes a great host, but he would do better to focus his efforts on specifics. ‘We are all the same underneath’ is all very well, but it is hardly an original sentiment.

Performer: Daniel Beaty

Director: Kenny Leon

2007-10-15 01:10:56