Adrian Decosta Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

★★★

“Adrian Decosta plays a stellar Martin Luther King”

The Life and Death of Martin Luther King by Paul Stebbings feels like an epic play forced into an intimate space. As the title suggests, it follows Martin Luther King’s life, from his first speech to lead and inspire the civil rights movement in Alabama. Overall, the play succeeds in telling King’s story – as much as can be covered in 90 minutes – but it suffers from the confines of its space and consequently questionable directing choices.

The play opens in silence with singular actor Toara Bankole entering the stage to sing. This was the start of a pattern of blocking which did not consider the full thrust staging. Throughout the show, I was purely witnessing the back of actors and had barely any moments to indulge in their faces and emotions. Two thirds of the audience were isolated from the action, in spite of being so close to the actual stage. The Golden Goose is very intimate and manages to hold a lot of the sound in the space. As a result it felt like the performers were shouting. Naturally, the play’s content gives way to the kind of vocal projection fit for outdoor crowds of hundreds. But even the scenes where this wasn’t the case, it felt like the actors were told to over project and this generally made the viewing experience uncomfortable. There was also one moment in the play where real metal chains were used in a movement sequence. The chains were repeatedly thrown around and dropped on the floor. The highly irritating, loud noise of these chains made the room wince, removing any awe inspiring effect intended.

From what I could see, the acting performances were pretty solid. Toara Bankole carries the show throughout. Formally only credited as Coretta King and Rosa Parks, she actually multi roles as an incredible number of characters – and she has at least six different dresses and costume changes to show for it. Her performances are subtle and touching, letting the audience into the life of her characters safely – fitting the intimate setting. Adrian Decosta (also the director) plays a stellar Martin Luther King, down to his voice emulating King accurately. It’s very hard to direct a play you’re also in, let alone starring in where you’re practically in every scene. The reason being, you don’t know how you actually look or sound on stage and can lack objectivity.

One of the biggest themes is of course race and racism. This can be a tricky subject but can – and should – be talked about well in theatre, when done with care. To portray the racist attitudes of people at the time, with a majority black cast, the actors wore white masks to portray white people. I thought this was clever, and an easy way for the cast to multi-role without difficulty. However, there were points when the one white actor in the cast wore a black mask to portray a black person. Simply due to the connotations, this did make me feel uncomfortable. There are a lot of openly racist actions and language used throughout the performance, which do portray the horrible reality of the time and so will of course feel uneasy and won’t be an enjoyable watch. However, I think some use of racist language from certain actors was used for shock value and didn’t necessarily contribute to the story.

To conclude, I think the play serves as a great educational piece, and an introduction to Martin Luther King for those who may not know of his legacy. However, it suffers from being an epic play in an intimate space – with potential to be greater on a larger, end-on stage.

The Allesley Silas

Belgrade Theatre

Reviewed – 26th July 2022

★★★

“Dowse does a fine job in keeping the audience engaged, finding a delightful lyricism in the words and being a natural storyteller”

Following a successful outdoor staging as part of the Coventry UK City Of Culture 2021 programme last year, “The Allesley Silas” has been adapted for Belgrade’s B2 performance space, where it plays this week. An adaptation of George Eliot’s 1861 novel “Silas Marner”, the play tells the story of a linen weaver who is wrongly accused of theft and subsequently withdraws from society. His loneliness and isolation cause him to move to the quiet village of Raveloe, and become obsessed with money, with his collection of gold coins becoming the only thing in the world that matters to him. One night, his gold is stolen, and Silas is devastated. Soon after, an orphaned child with golden hair enters his life when he finds her wandering alone in the snow, and he believes God has returned his gold to him in another form. Through caring for the child (whom he names Eppie), Silas begins to feel the warmth of human contact once more, and tries to overcome the pain of his past. However, the secret of her true parentage may bring fresh heartache to the lives of others in Raveloe.

Adapted from Eliot’s original novel into a two hour abridgement by Alan Pollock and directed by Olivia Marie, “The Allesley Silas” tells Marner’s story faithfully, if not always particularly excitingly. To be fair, Eliot’s tale is heavy on talking and light on action, and this production works within the parameters of the material and creates an enjoyable experience. The show takes a while to bed in and find its feet, with Act One feeling somewhat ploddy, although Act Two is much stronger. The plot is narrated on stage by Jill Dowse, which helps to tighten up the wordier stretches of the story, and Dowse does a fine job in keeping the audience engaged, finding a delightful lyricism in the words and being a natural storyteller. The production is underscored by folk-tinged incidental music (composed by Rebecca Applin) which maintains the setting and tone of the piece, and Abby Clarke’s set design is simple but effective, using a skeletal house structure as the focal point and framing the stage with wooden boxes which also cleverly double-up as floral borders to help show the passing of time and the seasons. The play is staged in the smaller B2 space, with its intimate nature suiting the piece really well and involving the audience in the story.

Adrian Decosta goes a great job as Silas, really taking the audience on the journey from wronged man to miser to nurturing father, and is particularly impressive near the show’s end where he finally gets closure on his past. Alex Allison is also wonderful as Eppie, brilliantly puppeteering (and vocalising) two child versions of her character before playing her for real in the show’s second act. She brings a real warmth to Eppie, and as a girl who is meant to shine like the sun, Allison is spot-on. Decosta and Allison create a bond throughout the show’s second act that feels genuine and heartfelt, which is lovely to watch.

Telling a 160-year-old story in 2022 is always going to be a tricky task, deciding whether to either modernise the story for today’s world or keep it as a period piece. This production goes for the latter, and although it may lack thrills, it offers a gentle and faithful look into the past, and finds real heart on its journey. Simply told, with the cast showing real affection for the piece, “The Allesley Silas” is a pleasantly nostalgic trip back to secondary school English class for audiences looking to dip back into a classic.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING

Golden Goose Theatre

★★★

“Adrian Decosta plays a stellar Martin Luther King”

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING

Golden Goose Theatre

Reviewed on 3rd January 2025

by David Robinson

Photography by Katja Piolka

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING

Belgrade Theatre

Reviewed – 26th July 2022

★★★

“Dowse does a fine job in keeping the audience engaged, finding a delightful lyricism in the words and being a natural storyteller”

Reviewed by Rob Bartley

Photography by Dylan Parrin (from 2021 production)

The Allesley Silas

Belgrade Theatre until 30th July

All our July reviews so far – click on the link to read: