‘How can I change forever?
If I stay on the fence…’
The Barbican Centre really are scheduling some brilliant works as of late: from Anything Goes, to My Neighbour Totoro, there’s something for everyone. And with the arrival of Tony & Pulitzer Prize-winning A Strange Loop we’re not short of a spectacular night out. This really is the show that arrives to our capital with a much-needed post-pandemic BOING! that reverberates around the Barbican estate in heaps of energy, sparkles and escapism.
A Strange Loop follows the tale of Usher, a young, gay, Black writer who absolutely loathes his day job as an usher at a Broadway Musical (Lion King), so therefore writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who’s writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer…a strange loop.
The repeated ‘Usher, usher…‘ from the first of many catch songs is an insight into the mind of someone who’s being pulled in such directions, that it often feels so overwhelming a times. There’s a restlessness that is propagates from within the actors’ soul. The story unfolds as we get to learn about Usher’s obsession with basic white girl music (a wry nod to Taylor Swift’s Reputation album cover art where sheet music tends to sit). I was cackling to how Taylor epitomises the basic inner white girl for Usher and how they (as a character) lean into that.
The performance soars from the very first note with the lead Kyle Ramar Freeman (who was transplanted from the American version where I believe they played one hundred shows despite being an understudy in the post-pandemic Broadway opening) captivating the audience with their stage presence. All of the other cast members really bring this production to light and equally wow in this uncompromising piece.They are: Sharlene Hector, Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea, Yeukayi Ushe, Tendai Humphrey Sitima, Danny Bailey and Eddie Elliott.
‘How many minutes ’til the end of intermission?’
What I enjoyed about this piece was the staging, given the simplicity of Arnulfo Maldonado’s set. There are the six doorways, in which the Thoughts all appear, and disappear. They work into the narrative in such a seamless way, I was really impressed by the differences in each one performance-wise. At one moment, the entire stage turns into a rainbow and that was so refreshing to see in the Barbican centre of all places; the fact that this is a loud, queer unashamedly Black-focused musical brought me such a joy to have it hosted in our capital.
All in all, if you like stories of overcoming hardship – whilst also being challenged by what you see & hear on stage – then this is for you. I feel like the truth is in the pudding for Michael R. Jackson’s near-two decade project. It knows exactly what it is, and we are taken on a journey and root for Usher form the start: I feel like it’s a queer Christmas with interludes of some of the horrendous realities of being a marginalised group within another minority group.
Running time: 1 hour and 40 minutes (no interval)
Age guidance: This show is not suitable for under 16s (Contains explicit language, references to racism, sexual assault, homophobia and scenes of an adult nature).
🖇️: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2023/event/a-strange-loop