REDD by Boy Blue ☆☆☆
Barbican
There is a poem by the singer/songwriter Rachel ‘Maiday’ Moulden in the programmes for tonight’s show. It’s a touching meditation on the nature of bereavement called ‘Words on Grief’. Choreographer Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy (Olivier nominated for Blak Whyte Gray in 2017) has taken this as basis to develop a beautiful work of contemporary hip hop dance theatre that takes us on “an introspective journey, looking at life’s irreversible moments and how they uniquely affect us”. The score is by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante (R.E.B.E.L. and Outliers both 2018) and has a choppy, dubby, mesmeric quality to it which the dancers respond to with glee.
One dancer is so fast he is a blur, yet his work it totally relaxed and still in sync with music and fellow dancers – the energy is, however, off the scale and thrilling to watch.
There is a disappointing lack of floor work considering downrock breakdancing is such a staple of hip-hop, but if there is a restricted inventory of moves, this is more than made up by a fascinating glimpses of narrative which even included the three wise monkeys at one point.
The lighting by Charlie Morgan-Jones is atmospheric without being underlit and a spectacular highlight where a full grid of amber par cans switches on and reveals the full fifty five foot wide Barbican Theatre stage. The dancers lose no time in covering the vast territory to maximum effect.
Costumes are by Ryan Dawson Laight (Queerguru has just covered his exceptional work on Torch Song) and he chooses a muted palette of grey which ensure perfect visibility of the dancers yet suits the sensitive subject matter. Towards the end each dancer carries a red scarf as if they are free spirits channelling Isadora Duncan. (‘Mind that scarf in the wheel of your car Isadora!! Oh..too late…’) Luckily there are no vehicular based mishaps here – just a masterclass in hip-hop street theatre.
REDD
Boy Blue
REVIEW : JONNY WARDJonny Ward, Queerguru Contributing Editor is a drama graduate but has worked backstage for many years at venues such as The ROYAL ALBERT Hall, The 02, Southbank Centre and is currently at The National Theatre. He lives in Hoxton, London and is delighted to check out the latest, the hottest and the downright dodgy in queer culture for Queerguru. (P.S. He is currently single) @JonnyWard360
Labels: 2019, Jonny Ward, London Theatre, review
