by Becky May, Volunteer Report
Play On! is a delightful musical comedy written by Sheldon Epps, staged by Talawa Theatre Company and showing at the Bristol Old Vic until 25 January.
It is a truly joyful ‘West End’ level show featuring flawless performances by the all-Black cast whose singing and brilliantly choreographed fusion of ‘street ’ and jazz dancing impressed throughout. The incredibly talented five-piece band was on stage for the entire show, forming a fitting and elegant backdrop to the action, and sound production was fabulous enabling dialogue to be heard clearly even in the furthest reaches of the auditorium.
Hidden gender identity and a love triangle
Based on Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Twelfth Night, the musical takes the play’s themes of hidden gender identity and the love triangle and transports the action to 1940s Harlem and in particular, The Cotton Club, the legendary New York nightclub where for a long time popular black performers entertained an almost exclusively white audience. The club’s heyday was during a period of legalised racial segregation in the United States. Its most celebrated orchestra leader was Duke Ellington, on whom ‘Duke’ in ‘Play on!’ is based. Jazz fans are in for a real treat here with twenty-five classic Duke Ellington numbers woven into the storyline.
“women cannot write great songs”
The plot centres around Vy, (Tsemaye Bob-Egbe) a talented female songwriter who comes to New York to write songs for Duke but having been left in no doubt that her songs will not be accepted because ‘women cannot write great songs’, she takes the route of many a female writer before her and assumes a male identity, becoming Vyman, breasts bound and sporting suit and tie. Of course, once she presents as a male her songs are recognised for their brilliance and Duke asks ‘Vyman’ to go to The Cotton Club and present one of them to ‘Lady Liv (KoKo Alexandra)’, the club’s diva singer, for who Duke holds a torch.
It all goes wrong when Liv falls for ‘Vyman’ and doesn’t take the ensuing rejection too well. ‘Liv’ laments that she is never seen for her true self, ‘Elizabeth’, echoing Vy’s predicament and from a feminist lens we may reflect on the extent to which women are forced to suppress their femininity in order to get ahead in a man’s world.
Similarly we are reminded about the injustices faced by the black performers and staff at the ‘Cotton Club’ but the musical does not try to deliver too many messages or get heavy for too long – it is all about the music and the dancing.
The cast
Alexandra shines as Lady Liv with moving vocal performances that send shivers down the spine and Cameron Bernard Jones playing Club Manager Rev for me provided one of the most memorable scenes as he performed ‘I’m beginning to see the Light’ in a stunning canary yellow zoot suit and showcasing his impressive dance moves.
Llewellyn Jamal as Uncle Jester is also particularly charismatic and compelling to watch but it is fair to say that across the board the cast were very strong with the ensemble dance moves impeccably synchronised.
Play On! leaves you with the warm glow and escapism more usually provided by the pantomime at this time of year, but without the high camp and double entendre. Indeed Play On! ends with a rather pantomime-esque ‘happily ever after’ finale with each of the couples (no spoilers here) walking to the front of the stage to the rapturous applause of the delighted audience. We came to be entertained and lifted and we were not disappointed.
Find out more about Play On! here: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/play-on
