• Advertise
  • Request Review
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy
  • Login

Theatre Bubble

The UK Theatre Network

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Opinions
  • Interviews
  • Guides
  • Tickets

For a Black Girl at the VAULT Festival

January 28, 2018 by Tom Bailey Leave a Comment

Review of: For A Black Girl

Reviewed by: Tom Bailey
Rating:
4
On January 28, 2018
Last modified:January 28, 2018

Summary:

Stunningly inventive theatre that drops the assumptions and prejudices of the audience in front of their own eyes.

More Details

A cleverly written and passionately performed bombardment, For a Black Girl is a piece wrestling with the exposure of racism and sexism. As we entered the Brick Hall and took our seats, a screen at the back of the stage rolled credits, giving an impression of entering after the official narrative has run its course. Beneath the screen sat the writer of the piece, Nicole Acquah, calmly flicking through a magazine and obviously preparing herself to viscerally dismantle assumptions in the coming hour.

The other actors filtered in – one male, four female, all white – and the show began with our male actor slipping into the role of mansplainer incarnate: “racism and sexism don’t exist”. From this moment forward, racist and sexist realities were explored and questioned using a combination of bluntness, humour and philosophy in a show that never took its eyes off the audience.

Running on one after another, often very slickly transitioned, we were taken through a series of vignettes involving oppression of women and racial discrimination, with movement used to further express and explore certain narratives. For me, one of the most powerful images of the piece came from the simplest use of physical theatre; a line of women sitting one behind the other during a rape trial. They would nod and shake their heads and shift in their chairs in a ripple of never-ending undermined experience that seemed to stretch far beyond the five actors on stage. The audience was actively engaged in the piece, implicated in the piece, by meta-theatrical moments.

Most notable was the shock that came with being told that we had, inadvertently, been part of an experiment on the value of the male voice. Our own presumptions and privileges were bravely and humorously dropped before us so that we may fall over them and learn in the process. There was a sense of being totally overwhelmed, oversaturated, the vast array of different stories running in a colliding and babbling flow. Initially I thought that the play was trying to do too much, there were simply too many threads to follow, but as the evening went on I realised that actually the multitude of stories in itself indicates how this show is only scratching the surface. This was seen at its most promiment when undercutting its own performative nature in its final moments by interrupting the bow to ask what happened to the girl in the court case, and to tell us a bitter and all too familiar “joke” that left us silent.

Author: Tom BaileyTom is a theatre maker and writer based in London, England. He covers news and interviews for Theatre Bubble.
T: Twitter F: Facebook

Filed Under: Featured, Review Tagged With: For A Black Girl, Vault Festival

Join the discussion Cancel reply

Review / The Journey To Venice at the Finborough Theatre

Bjorg Vik’s play The Journey To Venice is a delightful production, entertaining yet full of pathos. A play with a [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Tzarini Meyler talks KITES at VAULT Festival

We spoke to Artistic Director of LipZinc Theatre, writer and performer Tzarini Meyler about her upcoming show at VAULT Festival [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Naomi Westerman talks BATMAN (aka Naomi’s Death Show)

We spoke to writer and performer Naomi Westerman from Little But Fierce about her upcoming show at VAULT Festival Can [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Angharad Jones on The Swearing Jar 

From New Perspectives, The Swearing Jar is a comedy about love, heartbreak, living with the past and accepting the future. We spoke to director Angharad [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Unleash The Llama talks Five Years With The White Man

We spoke to the creators of Five Years With The White Man about the upcoming show coming to VAULT Festival [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • Tim Edge talks Under the Black Rock
  • Romeo and Juliet- Rose Theatre, Kingston Sublime Shakespeare.
  • Peter Pan at the National Theatre
  • Arts Funding as Propaganda
  • Ed Fringe 2016: Acting Alone, at Just Festival in St John's
  • The Disappearing Cripple: Disabled Actors - A Problem of Access or Perception?
  • How to Applying for Arts Grants and Funding
  • Katy Owen: How to Apply to Drama Schools*
  • Angharad Jones on The Swearing Jar 
  • Tom Bailey
    Editor

  • January 28th, 2018
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • Facebook40TweetLinkedInEmail

    Newsletter

    Enjoyed what you've read? Get even more great content directly to your inbox - Completely Free

    About Theatre Bubble

    Theatre Bubble is the news, review and blogging site created by Blue Pie Media and run by a dedicated team of outstanding editors and writers: we're always looking for new contributors - to find out more click here.

    Contact Us

    News: news@theatrebubble.com
    Reviews: reviews@theatrebubble.com
    Website: webmaster@theatrebubble.com

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2023 · Blue Pie Media

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

      Email sent!