The Barber Shop Chronicles
Image: Photo: Dean Chalkley
Jean-Paul Sartre’s 1944 Reflections on Anti-Semitism led him to ask the question “What is a Jew?” and to conclude “If the Jew did not exist, the anti-Semite would invent him.”
In the same way, the playwright Inua Ellams discovered he was a “black” man only after he migrated to the UK from Nigeria.
His experiences of being a black man are expressed in this well-regarded National Theatre production which is set in barbershops in Lagos, Johannesburg, Harare, Accra, Kampala and south London and features 12 actors who hale from various backgrounds and contribute their wide range of views and opinions to the lively banter in the barbershop.
It is the barber (much like the female equivalent of the hairdresser) who acts as confessor to conversations that cover opinions about Robert Mugabe, the word “nigger”, Mandela’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and personal relationships, a subject which comes to the fore when Samuel (Bayo Gbadamosi) accuses barbershop owner Emmanuel (Cyril Nri) of stealing the shop from his father.
In this testosterone-laden world, there is much debate about fatherhood, male friendship and masculinity, which is even more problematic a question for black men than for their white equivalents.
The rapid-fire repartee and the addition of dancing, chanting, and much movement on the stage as the actors reconfigure in different locations adds to the general sense of bonhomie among the barbers and their clients, although sombre moments remind us that their world is tinged by racism, abuse and even conflict.
The Director, Bijan Sheibani, marshalled his many players well across the stage to give us a lively and enlightening piece of theatre. My only reservation is that I missed some dialogue not because I have faulty ears but because the dialogue was too quick for me to catch. A great pity, since the play was so enjoyable.
Until Jan 28. York Theatre, City Rd & Cleveland St, Camperdown. $44-$89+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneyfestival.org.au
By Irina Dunn.
