Little Baby Jesus

by Arinzé Kene

seen at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, on 24 October 2019

Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu directs Anyebe Godwin as Kehinde, Rachel Nwokoro as Joanne and Khai Shaw as Rugrat in this intense three-hander about teenagers facing the challenge of growing into adulthood. the production is designed by Tara Usher

On a raised circle imitating school playground asphalt there are two chairs and three actors. As the audience arrives and settles the three are happily chatting to their public, singling out particular people for conversation, ranging around the four sides of seats. It's a risky gambit, preserving or establishing some sense of character without knowing quite what responses they will have to react to, but it is in line with the breezy self-confidence of youth, and the young actors seemed entirely at ease with the idea. Even the presence of at least two groups of school students in the audience did not appear to put them off their stride, and the students themselves enjoyed the repartee.

One Night in Miami ...

by Kemp Powers

seen at the Donmar Warehouse on 17 November 2016

The play, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah and designed by Robert Jones, features Sopé Dìrisù as Cassius Clay, David Ajala as Jim Brown, Arinzé Kene as Sam Cooke, Francois Battiste as Malcom X, Dwane Walcott as Kareem and Josh Williams as Jamaal. It takes place in a hotel in Miami on the evening after Cassius Clay won the world heavyweight title from Sonny Liston and on the eve of his announcement that he would henceforth be known as Muhammed Ali.

The hotel room is bland and anonymous, and rendered more austere though needing to accommodate the teetotal and rather prim Malcolm X; it is clearly far from the celebrations associated with the fight and Clay's victory - but as Malcolm points out Clay would not be welcome as a guest in the more upmarket Miami hotels no matter what he had just achieved.