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A funny, thought-provoking rollercoaster portrayal of Lorna Gee’s life and family, and the music and history that influenced them. Summary
Rating
Good
The mainly young audience at the Royal Court last night were buzzing with excitement. Expectations were running high for The Legends of Them and the musical extravaganza that was promised.
As a chronicle of a life, this show certainly has everything in there. Sutara Gayle AKA Lorna Gee,takes us on an historical voyage of life in Brixton and beyond. We follow her ancestry from Nanny of the Maroons, born into the Ashanti tribe, taken as a slave to Jamaica who escaped and freed over a thousand people and defeated the British. Quite a role model. However, given the defiance in her blood line Lorna doesn’t seem to channel that strength into her life for some time. We go on her journey through a succession of schools and a range of fast food, housekeeping and retail jobs none of which give her what she needs, having set her sights on being a singer. The narrative jumps around and we are introduced to Cherry, Lorna’s sister who was born in Jamaica before her mother came to England. Cherry’s story could stand on its own, her shooting by police, looking for her son, having sparked the Brixton riots in 1985.
Many of the characters portrayed by Lorna, while real, appear to have been condensed into historical stereotypes; a mother taking in sewing, having unrealistic career aspirations for her children, and the reality of coming to England from Jamaica. Lorna’s life also seems to follow a well-trodden path; not doing well at school, getting into drugs, stealing, going to prison. It’s in prison that she hears a song that she’s recorded on the radio. From prison she’s in a home for the maladjusted where, following abuse, Lorna has a son. Along the way she comes out to her mother as a lesbian.
Then we get to the interesting and intriguing section where we see Lorna in India. She’s guided by her brother Tony (now called Mooji) through stages of release, forgiveness and rebirth. Mooji is present through voiceover and the projection of his words. How they both get to be in India and change their names and embrace the transcendental is unclear.
With so many locations and scenes, Joshie Harriette’s clever lighting design helps give us a sense of time and place in the dialogue, as does Elena Peña’s sound and music by Christella Litras.
We end with a film of Lorna (now Sutara) burning her dreadlocks and feeling free and new. It’s a great ending, but I wish we’d spent more time on how she came to where she is now and her journey of self-discovery. While a tragic story of a family, it ends positively and the audience appear to have their expectations fulfilled.
Written & Performed by: Sutara Gayle AKA Lorna Gee
Directed & Co-Created by: Jo McInnes
Dramaturg & Co-Created by: Nina Lyndon
Costume Design by: Melissa Simon-Hartman
Lighting Design by: Joshie Harriette
Composer & Musical Direction by: Christella Litras
Sound Design by: Elena Peña
Projection Design by: Tyler Forward
The Legends of Them plays at the Royal Court until 21st December. Further information and booking details can be found here.
