Review: Deep Azure, Shakespeare’s Globe

What happens when a Marvel icon meets Shakespeare? The inimitable Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu puts that to the test in Deep Azure at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, creating a thrilling juxtaposition of worlds.

The late Chadwick Boseman is probably most famous for his iconic acting role as T’Challa in Black Panther, but he was additionally a talented playwright. This 2005 play, based on a true incident, tells the story of Deep (Jayden Elijah), a Black man profiled and shot dead by an undercover police officer. His friends, family and girlfriend Azure (Selina Jones) grapple not only with their grief, but with the injustice of his death, facing a world changed forever.

It’s an often bewildering show, but deliberately so, as it enacts a deeply disorienting experience and articulates the overwhelming trauma of grief in its form. Related through spoken word poetry, beatboxing and physical theatre, and with laugh out loud humour, the play is shape-shifting and visually impressive. Throughout the first half in particular, multiple performance elements combine to generate visceral understanding of a reality that’s distorted; temporally insecure. Within this sits contemplation of a Black life lost and its worth, relevant today as it was throughout history and into the future, even as events come with a twist.

Often at the Globe it takes a minute to tune in; to listen carefully and grasp the unfamiliar words and delivery of Shakespeare. It’s a simple transition to apply those skills to Boseman’s exquisite use of language, verse and music in this hip hop theatre production, where he seamlessly references Shakespeare alongside Black culture. Indeed, the play has many things you might expect if it were by the Bard, including murder, betrayal, revenge, mental health issues and a tragic heroine. It’s familiar but unfamiliar, and by tapping into our Shakespeare skills we’re granted a portal into contemporary understanding.

Intersecting with Shakespeare’s elite heritage, this story about Black lives achieves unusual gravitas and validity here, where flickering candles suggest the ephemerality of life and Fynn-Aiduenu is not just a director but a world-maker. He skilfully blends pop culture – from TV to marching bands – into the traditional space, creating a multi-dimensional universe where universal human stories are described through a Black lens. He pushes the boundaries that contain the narrative, surrounding the spectators in the action from the encircling corridors. We become part of Deep’s world, reflected on shining silver domes onstage, sharing space and perhaps complicity. A new blend of audience is created – forged from the hip hop world and that of classic theatre.

It’s rare to find such an exceptional all-round cast, but this team brings it in shedloads and can’t be faulted. The showstopper is the extraordinarily talented Jones as Azure, who morphs evocatively through extreme emotions and delivers a jaw-dropping physical performance. She’s supported with flawless work from Elijah as a spiritual yet grounded Deep, and has outstanding backup from Elijah Cook as Tone and Justice Ritchie as Roshad. Meanwhile, the Faustian angels named Street Knowledge of Good (Aminita Francis) and of Evil (Imani Yahshua) head up a vocally and physically talented supporting ensemble.

Meticulous, eloquent and emotive music from co-composers Conrad Murray and John Pfumojena gives the work a richly visceral quality. In a play powered by poetry, at times it’s the use of universal language that contributes exceptional depth to the storytelling, such as when beatboxing conjures the minute detail of a car journey, helping us vividly live the moment.

A show that showcases language, Deep Azure left me speechless. The talent on stage is breathtaking and what Fynn-Aiduenu is doing for Black British theatre is nothing short of gamechanging. Kudos to Shakespeare’s Globe for seeing the value of putting this groundbreaking work in their space.

You can read more about this show in our recent interview with composer Conrad Murray here.

Written by Chadwick Boseman
Directed by Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu
Design by Paul Wills
Co-composed by Conrad Murray & John Pfumojena
Movement director: Tanaka Bingwa

Deep Azure runs at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse until Saturday 11 April.