Review: G, Royal Court Theatre

Magical realism is hard to come by in the theatre. Playwright Tife Kusoro dips into urban legends and creepypasta to deliver a fascinating coming-of-age piece. With stunning direction by Monique Touko, G is a brilliant supernatural cautionary tale - a description that’s, admittedly, not entirely accurate nor comprehensive of everything the play is.

Kusoro infuses her work with surrealism and harsh socio-political critique, pure banter and sheer terror. It’s young and fresh and ingenuously subversive. It’s a comic thriller, but also an unsettling allegory and a story about the power of friendship and loyalty. Kusoro is definitely onto something.

They say that all it takes for Baitface the Gullyman to get you is to walk underneath a pair of shoes hanging from a wire. The white Nikes have been dangling in pristine conditions above for over twenty years after Baitface was condemned for a crime he didn’t commit. When three teenagers are accused of a serious offence, Baitface lurks behind them. With Khaleem, Joy, and Kai just trying to live their lives, why can’t any of them remember what happened on the night the police keep asking about?

G is anything but predictable. A non-linear timeline haunts the fragmented but intuitive storytelling, with Kusoro continuously muddling a captivating mix of tones. The swift scene changes are often invigorated by the presence of a lurking, breakdancing Baitface. Dani Harris-Walters appears in a full white outfit topped with a white balaclava. Is he a ghost? Is he a supervillain? Is he a different sort of entity? His white kicks glow and pulsate with an eerie pull throughout. The kids salute them constantly. Ebenezer Gyau (Khaleem), Kadiesha Belgrave (Joy), and Selorm Adonu (Kai) are a cohesive trio of actors. Though fairly older than the characters they portray, they, thankfully, don’t come off as adults-playing-children.

Kusoro’s dialogues are natural in their hands, alive with idiosyncratic slants and personality. While the script is far from being directly eye-opening, its crypticness adds charisma to a piece whose only fault is, perhaps, to pursue one too many leads. There’s a harrowing moment when Joy is seen to be forced to be strip-searched because the Sainsbury’s metal detectors keep going off. It’s a distressing sight, but proves a point. Joy is, however, the catalyst for a too-brief conversation about gender that, at this stage, seems to be thrown in for the sake of it. There’s already too much going on for Kusoro to explore that side of Joy and it remains to be taken at face value.

Adam King’s lights, Tyler Forward’s video design, and Khalil Madovi’s sound are the agents that transform Touko’s vision into a tangibly atmospheric and imaginative production. Projections wash over the traverse stage, taking over the space with CCTV footage, chronological hints, and further effects that lean into the symbolism and enigma. The project features a special attention to physical movement too, with Kloé Dean choreographing the performance in precise detail from Baitface’s dance breaks to the scuffles. All in all, G is an accomplished piece of theatre. It might not appeal to the grey pound crowd, but it may welcome a brand new slice of audience if the Court plays its cards right. It’s a very cool show.

G runs at The Royal Court Theatre until 21 September.

Photo Credit: Isha Shah

To post a comment, you must register and login.