Writer: Esohe Uwadiae
Director: Shakira Newton
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Enchanting Performance“
4 / 5
Growing up in a quiet, suburban Essex town meant that Osuyi never quite felt like she fit in, being one of only a few black students in her school. Though her name means ‘worthy of adoration’, she sadly never felt able to resonate.
Osuyi’s (Efe Agwele) older now, and is temporarily abandoning her life in the UK for an extended trip to Nigeria, excited for the adventure that lies ahead, but equally nervous to be leaving behind her job, friends, home and family. As she packs away her belongings, she reminisces on her life up until now, focusing especially on the relationship she shared with the biracial best friend she grew up with. When they first met as children, they were unbreakable, but then she moved away to Durham for a while, and everything changed. When she came back, she had changed her name to Taylor, relaxed her hair, adopted a Northern accent, and got friendly with ‘the populars’. From then on, while Osuyi was trying to fit in and embrace her background, Taylor was trying her best to reinvent herself and erase her identity. Can their friendship survive or is their bond destined to remain just a memory?
Esohe Uwadiae’s well-crafted storyline is packed with humour, emotion and realism, bought to life with an energised, enchanting performance from the talented Efe Agwele. Running at 75minutes, there is a lot packed in – identity, racism, colourism, friendship and longing, but it never feels bloated. Each moment in Osuyi’s life is given ample attention, each feeling allowed both time to impact, and time to settle to ensure the audience inherit the full weight of emotion and understanding behind each sentiment. Agwele masterfully shifts between poignant scenes of reflection, to flippant, personable humour, ensuring that the monologue remains continuously engaging and intriguing throughout.
The subject matters are explored with experience and understanding, every instance feels genuine and heartfelt, adding an extra layer of confidence to the writing that helps embed the intimacy of the characters mindset throughout. The insightful reflections on her race, identity and lack of connections in particular are extremely touching and strongly explored.
It would be great if there was initially a little more context between the final scenes at her school prom to her current situation after avoiding a school reunion, as the timeframe isn’t completely clear. It’s uncertain whether she’s now middle aged and looking back, or still young and only recently graduated. Though it doesn’t have a huge impact on the narrative, it would still help to ensure the audience are following along correctly. With some clearer timelines and more clarity on timestamps at each life stage as she travels down memory lane, it would help the audience to be even further immersed into the story as they better understand and progress along with it.
An enjoyable, well-written show, with a remarkably talented, likeable actor as the heart of it.
Runs from 12th-24th August at The Glitch, Waterloo
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