BRENDAโS GOT A BABY at the New Diorama Theatre
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โCome for the comedy and side-line the sincerity and youโll be hard-pressed not to enjoy this show.โ
Brendaโs Got a Baby, an original work premiering at the New Diorama Theatre, borrows its title from a 2pac song. The song tells the harrowing tale of a young, impoverished girl who has a baby at twelve that she cannot support and quite literally throws away. Through the story of one girl, 2Pac seeks to lay bare something truthful about the black experience. Jessica Haganโs piece flips this on its head in this comedy-drama, with emphasis on the comedy.
Brenda, in Haganโs reimagining, is the presumably white classmate of Ama, a British-Ghanaian, middle class, ex-grammar school girl from North London. Brenda had a baby at 16, plus four more between school and shortly before Amaโs 28th birthday when they bump into each other at a supermarket. Itโs here the story begins, with Ama, a high-flyer fulfilling everything her mother and school expected of her, looking down her nose at Brenda. This meeting starts a chain of events that cause Ama to spiral and ask whether her fancy job, new flat and, on the surface, perfect boyfriend offer her everything she needs before she hits thirty.
The first act introduces us to Ama (Anita-Joy Uwajeh), her family and boyfriend. Everything looks great for her and is approached with realism. But just before the interval, Ama decides she must have a baby by thirty and a bomb-like countdown clock appears above the stage, signalling a descent in the second act to totally exaggerated, telenovela style theatre where Ama is driven mad, pretty literally, by her ticking clock.
Itโs an incongruous mix. Not just for the fact that it feels like two different pieces smashed together, but for the way serious and sincere topics are treated against the farce. Amaโs sister Jadeโs struggle with fibroids seems to make an important point about womenโs health, and in particular black womenโs health outcomes. But this plays out, briefly, and without much depth, against a bizarre episode where Ama tricks her sisterโs husband to come with her to her fertility clinic appointment masquerading as her own husband.
Itโs difficult to know what to make of this show. There is plenty that feels underdeveloped, not least the infantilising set of rainbow puzzle pieces. But the comedy is good, both in its writing and performance under Anastasia Osei-Kuffourโs direction. Edward Kagutuzi as Jadeโs husband Skippy is hilarious as a sweet and well meaning wannabe Christian rapper, and his physical comedy with Amaโs boyfriend Dami (Jordan Duvigneau) receives plenty of uproarious laughter. It is just that these comedic moments are so outlandish, and the plot twist so wild and unexpected, that the rest of the more serious content fades into obscurity.
Come for the comedy and side-line the sincerity and youโll be hard-pressed not to enjoy this show.
BRENDAโS GOT A BABY at the New Diorama Theatre
Reviewed on 8th November 2023
by Amber Woodward
Photography by Cesare De Giglio
Previously reviewed at this venue:
After The Act | โ โ โ โ โ | March 2023
Project Dictator | โ โ ยฝ | April 2022
Brendaโs Got a Baby
Brendaโs Got a Baby
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