THEATRE 503 until 22 June 2019
Reviewed by Serena Norgren
3***
Carnival is here. The streets of Notting Hill are alive with history and amongst the pulsating soca, dazzling colour, and endless sequins and feathers, Jade (Sapphire Joy) and Nadine (Sharla Smith) are fighting for space in a world they thought was theirs. J’Ouvert is a snapshot of these two best friends and their experience on one summer’s day at the Notting Hill carnival.
This is the debut play of Yasmin Joseph, one of Theatre503s writers-in-residence, and directorial debut of actor Rebekah Murrell: a story of sexual politics, friendship, culture and the Black experience.
The production has clearly been beset with some problems and Sharla Smith had only had a week to rehearse and was very much still on book in this, it’s opening week. It was valiant and energy-infused effort and by the end of the run, she will have nailed it, for sure. It must have been deeply frustrating for everyone involved and contributed to the slightly “work in progress” feel.
Having said that, this is a tale of friendship and culture and it wasn’t long before we were immersed in the girls’ relationship as Nadine prepares for the Queen of the Carnival competition. There is the meeting with Jade’s Y5 teacher, a trip to get food from overpriced Milly’s before a very unpleasant encounter with two white men. We meet Nisha (Annice Boparai), Jade’s politically “do gooder” and wealthier Asian friend, a tour de force of naïve activism, enthusiasm, heart and absolutely no emotional awareness at all.
The piece explores a wide range of concepts – racism, grades of colour, misogyny, rich v poor, modern “me too” girls against their old fashion, religious aunts and mothers, the futility of youth and commercialisation. It is indeed ambitious but these concepts are cleverly woven together in a tight and more often than not hilarious script. Although Grenfell and Windrush are not mentioned directly they permeate through the play. The Carnival’s deep historic and cultural routes are epitomised by the ghost of Claudia Jones, the Mother of Carnival in a slightly random and confusing way not helped by the three performers playing all parts throughout. A special mention to Sapphire Joy whose versatility shone through but was particularly hilarious as Hubert, a 70 year old beer drinking Jamaican.
Overall, this is a sharp, funny and well written work which tackles complex issues with humour and great insight, despite the slightly clunky production and casting issues. Yasmin Joseph is a playwright to watch and this production is worth a visit