DramaFringe TheatreReviews

Review: Brown Girl Noise, The Glitch

Summary

Rating

An energetic and moving account of four brown girls growing up in London. Infused with laughter, sadness, voice and dance, this play celebrates the community it represents and is in turn embraced back.

I’ll start with the lovely gift bag that was under each seat: let’s face it, there are worse ways to prepare for a show, and this delight was matched by a palpable sense of excitement from the audience as they took their seats. Four actors (Amber Zarya, Misha Domadia, Kaya Uppal and Amrita Mangat) get ready to go out whilst this happens, checking their make-up and clothes. The white room is bare save for four black cubes in the middle, with photos of the cast as young children stuck to pillars. The audience sit single file against the four walls. The effect is intimate, if a little cold.

Our quartet are each auditioning for a role in Priti Patel’s biopic. As the four wait to be called in, they start to chat before beginning to devise their own drama: a series of chapters based on their experiences of growing up as brown girls in London. Personal stories, linked with costumes, laughter and sadness, flow naturally as they act out their own versions of Horrible Histories, The Wizard of Oz and Love Island. Traditional family dynamics clash with modern London, highlighting prejudices and racism and the difficulty of crossing the cultural divide.

The sense of joy from the community in the room who are watching these actors tell stories that represent and celebrate their own experiences is palpable. They are delighted to be watching a play that resonates for them. This is not a small thing: representation is critical and it was loved and appreciated last night. And these might be everyday stories but they are the stories that make up the reality of their lives, giving this culture a visibility that is not commonplace.

Much of the acting is strong if not consistent, and initially it wasn’t easy to understand the switch from actors waiting for an audition to a play of their own devising. The change needs to be more obvious. There is also a lot of content covered in the chapters which could be stripped back to allow focus on a couple of key areas. The debate, for example, on the hypocrisy of politicians such as Sunak, Braverman, and Patel – all children of immigrants, trying to introduce divisive and cruel schemes aimed at turning away immigrants – is very powerful and more time could be spent on that. Similarly, a brutal attack on one of the characters, deemed to be the fault of the girl herself given the underwear she was wearing, is almost lost completely. A dramatic pause here to absorb the horror would be useful. Lighting is uneven, which means that when the actors move to the corners of the room to interact with the audience, they are almost in complete darkness and barely visible to the rest of the spectators.

The finale comes when one by one the actors are offered the part of young Priti – all the first choice, naturally. The ending is a bit rushed, and there is definitely room for more of a dramatic surprise, but the warmth from the audience remained, with some getting up to dance with the cast at the end.

I left invigorated and as ever reassured by the work of a younger demographic. It was a performance that honoured the community it reflected and in return was embraced back. But I would like to see this piece go from strength to strength; to educate more audiences about the reality of life for young, brown women in London. To do that, a little refinement is required.


Written and produced by: Kaya Uppal
Directed by: Akshita

Brown Girl Noise plays at The Glitch until Monday 10 February. Further information and booking details can be found here.

Sara West

Sara is very excited that she has found a team who supports her theatre habit and even encourages her to write about it. Game on for seeing just about anything, she has a soft spot for Sondheim musicals, the Menier Chocolate Factory (probably because of the restaurant) oh & angst ridden minimal productions in dark rooms. A firm believer in the value and influence of fringe theatre she is currently trying to visit all 200 plus venues in London. Sara has a Master's Degree (distinction) in London's Theatre & Performance from the University of Roehampton.

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