Review: TRAPLORD, Sadler’s Wells

Ivan Michael Blackstock’s Traplord is an unflinching, genre-blurring exploration of Black masculinity, identity, and mental health. Combining dance, spoken word, video art, and music, it interrogates the very stereotypes it evokes, walking a fine line between depiction and deconstruction. As a reviewer and a white woman in the audience, I felt deeply privileged to witness such an intimate, layered portrayal of black male experience.

The performance opens in darkness, with low, vibrating soundscapes and hooded, masked figures adorned with hints of bling. Lit by flashes of harsh torchlight which escape into the audience, the scene evokes menace and stylised cliché. But the hyper-masculine posturing, later subverted by the revelation that some performers are women, immediately challenges assumptions. These original personas are masks, roles imposed, performed, and ultimately broken down throughout the performance

This motif of duality, between performance and authenticity, identity and stereotype, runs throughout. The choreography is both explosive and vulnerable, blending krump, bone-breaking, and moments of stillness. A dancer krumps in front of a mirror, but it’s more than reflection; it becomes a confrontation. In another moment, a performer moves like a rag-doll, embodying emotional chaos and fragmentation. These scenes are not just physical feats; they’re psychological battles made visible.

Projections of video game avatars mirror live movement, suggesting alternative selves or internal conflict. The recurring question, “What does it mean to be the perfect human?” threads through the show, explored through text, movement, and symbolism. The ensemble works in powerful harmony, weaving these questions through every aspect of the performance.

Blackstock himself appears throughout, often in a rabbit-eared balaclava – part ghost, part observer. His presence is haunting, a symbol of dissociation or detachment, slipping between scenes as if between worlds. The structure is episodic and non-linear – a collage of memories and impressions rather than a traditional narrative. Still, the emotional arc is clear: survival, anger, and a deep yearning for identity and truth.

The setting, an industrial, church-like space, adds stark intensity. Performers move like sentinels, trapped in their own psychological mazes. The sound design, pulsing and disorientating, at times overwhelms the spoken word. Yet moments of clarity emerge, especially a moving spoken word section interrogating the idea of perfection, accompanied by a powerful solo from Kanah Flex. His performance blurs the line between physical and mental strain, forcing us to reconsider the limits of the human body – and the mind.

Symbolism is heavy and at times overwhelming: pig masks, angel wings, white powder, chains, and estate projections layer meaning upon meaning. Yet they rarely feel gratuitous. Instead, they reinforce the oppressive systems, internalised expectations, and distorted identities that Traplord seeks to unravel.

The piece leaves us not with answers but with impact. The performers’ raw intensity, the visual and the sheer vulnerability on display speak volumes about the psychological weight Black men carry in a society that often renders them invisible or monstrous. The final message, “If you don’t breathe, you die. And you don’t have to do it alone”, lands like a collective exhale, offering both catharsis and connection.

After a standing ovation, a reprise of an earlier dance sequence releases the built-up tension, transforming trauma into shared relief. Traplord is not just a performance – it’s protest, therapy, ritual, and reclamation. Immersive, discomforting, and deeply human, it reminds us that survival is not a solitary act.

In the end, Traplord challenges its audience to witness, reflect, and reckon. It’s theatre not just as art, but as truth-telling – a rare and necessary experience.

Directed & Choreography by: Ivan Michael Blackstock
Co-Design by: Shankho Chaudhuri, Chloe Lamford
Lighting Design by: Simisola Majekodunmi
Sound Design by: Luke Swaffield for Autograph
Video Design by: Ian William Galloway
Original Costume Design by: Saskia Lenaerts
Music Supervision by: Torben Sylvest
Music by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, BRNSRGHT, CREATXR, DOMINANT, Mindaugas Juozapavicius, Torben Sylvest

TRAPLORD has completed its current run.