22
April 2004
Yellowman @ Everyman |
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| Yellowman
is at the Everyman until May 8th |
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Yellowman,
the acclaimed play by American writer Dael Orlandersmith is making
its UK Premiere at the Everyman, Claire Hamilton reviews the production.
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What
do you look like? Are you fat or thin? male or female? Black, brown,
yellow or white? What influence do these things have over your life?
Can they change the path your life will take? Can you act to change
that?
The two characters in Yellowman are both African-American, but within
their own South Carolina community, they are viewed very differently.
Alma is dark (and fat, her mother says), Eugene is lighter skinned,
the 'yellowman' of the title. The play revolves around their struggle
to break free from the limitations and expectations placed on them
by their family and friends because of their colour and their culture.
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| Kevin
Harvey in Yellowman |
A two-handed
production is always a risk, but this is undoubtedly one of the
most moving and impressive pieces of theatre I have ever seen. The
raw emotions and comic, laugh-out-loud characterisations are so
vivid and so real, you feel completely drawn into this world. The
audience laughed, cried and rose to its feet to give actors Kevin
Harvey and Cecelia Noble a standing ovation. So completely did they
transform themselves into a cast of both sympathetic and grotesque
characters, it's hard to believe there were only two of them onstage.
They really earned that ovation.
Some of the language may sit uncomfortably with some viewers - but
you MUST go and see this play if you get the chance. It's being
performed in the U.K for the first time and it's a real coup for
the Everyman to have brought this production into the city.
The story may not directly reflect your own experience, but I defy
you to leave the theatre unmoved, or unashamed at the prejudice
which corrupts the human spirit in all walks of life. Amazing.
Words: Claire Hamilton
Yellowman
is at the Everyman until Saturday 8th May
Photography by Christian Smith
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