The Westbridge Estate, Battersea. Through the dark and depressing bleakness young black kids prowl and bike. It's tough, but it's home. In the nearby terraces the Asian shopkeeper sits to dinner with his family and the black single mum with dreams of something better makes hanging baskets and small talk while overhead in Barratts boxes lounge the young and upwardly mobile who can't afford Chelsea. Welcome to the inner city.
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| Umbridge too far |
Rachel De-lahay's first play is ambitious in reach; a snapshot of life around Westbridge at the moment of a life-changing incident - the alleged rape of an Asian teenager by a group of black males. Suddenly the relationships of all the protagonists are put to the test. Without preamble, sexy and sassy Cambridge-educated Soriya chucks boyfriend Marcus because she's half Pakistani and he's half black (black remains non-specific) and the rape has made her realise you should stick with your own. Huh? Meanwhile, white Georgina, the only character not to discriminate on the grounds of race, is furious that Soriya's brother Ibi has married 'in'.
Cycling around them - and us - constantly stalled by street incidents that send shivers up our backs, is Andre, sweet sixteen and full of secrets, stealing from the local 'Paki' as a reflex - an elegant summing up of the historic enmity between the two racial groups. Is he the rapist? It's great drama, but the protagonists are more confused by the end of the play than at the beginning and thats... confusing.
In conclusion: A provocative and timely look at Asian-black relations and mixed race adults, the fabulous set and Clint Dyer's inventive direction keep you on edge throughout even as the narrative slips into intellectual obsfuscation.
References
Michael Coveney review in What's on Stage
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