Blue – Seven Dials Playhouse, Covent Garden

Writer: June Carryl 
Director: Michael Matthews

Reviewer: Christine Stanton 

“Powerful & Hard-Hitting“

4 / 5

~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~

Boyd Sully and LaRhonda Parker have known each other for years – Parker’s husband was Sully’s old partner, so they consider themselves to be good family friends. This makes the administrative investigation against Sully all the more surprising when it’s detective Parker in charge – will their relationship help his case, or will it complicate things even further? 

The investigation is looking into Sully’s conduct after he shot and killed a motorist after what was seemingly a routine traffic stop. David Mason was a young, black, war-veteran suffering from PTSD. Sully pulled him over because of an expired tag, when he also noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Mason supposedly sped off, Sully pulled the trigger and Mason drove headfirst into a tree. Sully maintains that he acted accordingly, which initially Parker seems to agree with as they skim through the facts and light-heartedly jest about their families and memories they share together. But as Parker delves deeper into his defence, inconsistencies start to flag up in his story and their personal beliefs about what ‘protect and serve’ really means begin to clash – resulting in a tense battle between the truth and their existing relationship.  

Writer and performer June Carryl is effortlessly captivating, showcasing a full range of believable emotions as she interrogates Sully. Her rousing speeches about justice and cases of police corruption are completely moving. John Colella (Sully) is also fantastic on stage, playing the nervous cop well before unleashing his emotive tirade of frustration on how the world is changing. Various contemporary references are embedded into the script – such as the storming of the Capital and the effect of the black lives matter and backing the blue movements. Names of unarmed victims, killed by the police are listed at the end of the performance as Carryl breaks down into tears in a powerfully fitting final scene.  

The stage is in the round, which at points, under the very bright lights of the interrogation room, make it quite distracting – being completely engrossed by the actors, but then having that broken by an audience member on the opposite side shuffling in their seats. The hard-hitting script would really benefit from keeping the full focus on the two incredibly talented performers. The pacing is well thought out, the immediate rapport between the two characters builds a false sense of security, and although as the story proceeds their relationship deteriorates at points, there is still the realistic underlying connection that they have, helping to muddy the waters of Parker’s decision on how to proceed with the investigation.  

This is a strong show, bought to life with two wonderful performances, about a subject matter that has been and sadly still is, very prevalent in contemporary society.  

Runs Until 30 March 2024