Theatre Review: Torn by Femi Oguns
Two people fall in love. Two black people fall in love and their families are outraged. This is the seemingly improbable premise of the thoughtful new play by playwright/actor Femi Oguns. The problem you see is that David (beautifully played by Oguns) is a Nigerian, his girlfriend (Kelle Bryan) is Jamaican, and that, for both their families is enough to try and split them up. It’s an ongoing issue, this bigotry in our communities. Some roll their eyes at the mere mention of it – haven’t e got over this yet? What Oguns manages to do here is use humour and beautiful writing to force us to cast an eye over ourselves and the prejudices in our communities. There are many laugh out loud moments in this play. True, most are provided by the ever-brilliant performer Jocelyn Jee Esien – Wil Johnson as the Jamaican father puts in a great and often hilarious too. But that we can laugh at ourselves shows a maturity developing in our communities. We are laughing at the ridiculous stereotypes we have heard, maybe even used ourselves. We are laughing because deep down we know just how silly these prejudices really are.
The issue might be an old one but this refreshing playwright has written some great material. Oguns portrays both Nigerian and Jamaican characters at their fully flawed best.
Showing until August 2 at Arcola Theatre. Box office: 020-7503 1645
posted by Andrea Enisuoh @ 3:09 PM
1 Comments:
nice movie
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