Alterations

This week’s outing was back to the Lyttleton for this play from the '70s.  Written by Michael Abbensetts, it was dusted off from the  National Theatre Archive, with additional writing by Trish Cooke.  Set entirely in his scruffy tailoring shop, Walker is trying to complete an order that will give him the money to realise his dream to open a proper suit shop. The play encompasses the dreams that he and his wife had when they emigrated from Guyana as well as his dreams for the future.  We see how trying to achieve his aspirations has taken a toll on his family life and the 'alterations' in dreams and expectations has affected everyone.  The context and challenges of life in Britain as a Black person in the 1970s are drawn out through the rest of the ensemble and the conversations they have, and the only white character, a Jewish immigrant from an earlier time gives an extra dimension to the stories about making your way in a new country.  The performances are all great, particularly from Cherrelle Skeete as Walker’s wife Darlene  and Arinzé Kene as Walker, with Walker as the eternal optimist, ignoring the racism that surrounds them and the breaking relationship between them, getting more desperate in pursuing his plans over the course of one night, whilst Darlene is clear eyed in pursuing her dream, but in a way that she didn't envisage when she first travelled to the UK.

The set was well arranged as a central rectangle (in hues of seventies orange) which serves as the shop, and we never leave it to go into the outside world which is clearly a bit threatening.  Outside of the shop though, we get to see glimpses of the dreams that they hold, so we see Darlene and Walker as a smart couple, and even the aspirational tailors shop in Carnaby Street.  We were in the slips seats again and the arrangement meant that even though we slightly lose the edge of the stage in these seats we didn’t miss any of the action - it’s great when that happens.  But, whilst I sort of understand why the set was so cluttered, I did find the messiness  a bit distracting when I was trying to follow the action.  

As another representation of the Black British experience this was good to see, and the audience was more diverse in themes of age and ethnicity than the usual at this theatre, so that was a bonus. Despite the many good things about this, I did find the pace challengingly slow, particularly for a 2 hour play without an interval.  And yes it is funny, a bit sitcomish, mixed with something a bit more reflective, and I really wanted to love it, but somehow for me it didn’t really sparkle as I'd hoped, maybe a bit like Walker's dreams.