Tag Archives: Ryan Calais Cameron

RETROGRADE

★★★★

Apollo Theatre

RETROGRADE

Apollo Theatre

★★★★

“the tension is expertly paced, punctuated with sharp quips and well-timed barbs that keep the drama crackling”

Ryan Calais Cameron’s Retrograde is a taut and electrifying drama that captures a pivotal moment in Sidney Poitier’s career and moral journey. It’s the mid-1950s, and Poitier is on the cusp of stardom. But, his breakout performance in Blackboard Jungle has brought him not only industry attention, but an altogether more sinister political attention. Now, on the verge of signing with New York-based TV network NBC, he faces a career-defining choice: sign a loyalty oath and make a public statement denouncing civil rights activist Paul Robeson or risk blacklisting.

This gripping three-hander, based in truth, stars Ivanno Jeremiah as Sidney Poitier, Oliver Johnstone as his friend Bobby, a white liberal screenwriter who has written a role for him, and Stanley Townsend as Parks, NBC’s ruthless lawyer who demands Poitier sign the oath. As Bobby and Poitier’s friendship is tested, both men must confront how much they are willing to sacrifice for career advancement. Self-interest begins to outweigh principles, and the stakes for all three characters become ever more apparent.

The play runs for 90 minutes without an interval, unfolding in real time as Poitier arrives for what he believes will be a straightforward contract signing. Bobby has been singing Poitier’s praises to Parks, but when Poitier enters, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary meeting. When Bobby is asked to leave, and Parks and Poitier are left alone, the pressure intensifies. Parks reveals that this is not merely about a contract, Poitier must prove that this “Black-Black” actor from the Caribbean upholds “American values.” Their exchange is a harrowing power play, laying bare the racial and political tensions of the era.

Under Amit Sharma’s direction, the tension is expertly paced, punctuated with sharp quips and well-timed barbs that keep the drama crackling. Sharma ensures the psychological and moral dilemmas remain at the forefront. Moments of stillness land as powerfully as the play’s most charged exchanges, often lingering just long enough to make the next verbal moment of levity or cutting blow hit even harder.

Jeremiah delivers a magnetic performance, shifting from an unemployed actor forced to entertain white gatekeepers to a principled man refusing to compromise. Johnstone’s Bobby, brimming with nervous charm, subtly unravels as the tension escalates, his affability giving way to desperation. Townsend, on stage for most of the play, dominates as Parks, embodying cold, relentless pragmatism.

Frankie Bradshaw’s set design enhances the claustrophobic atmosphere. The single setting (a stark, mid-century NBC studio office) is both period-accurate and symbolically oppressive. A subtle but telling touch is a Notorious (1946) film poster on the office wall. Hitchcock’s thriller, centred on espionage and moral compromise, quietly reflects Poitier’s predicament. A prominent clock runs in real time, its ticking growing louder at key moments, reinforcing the inescapable pressure on Poitier, a subtle but effective auditory cue from sound designer Beth Duke. The play opens with period jazz and sound bites referencing Poitier’s growing reputation – significantly, voices of others commenting on him – making the final audio recording, in his own voice, all the more poignant.

Bradshaw’s costume design is equally thoughtful. Poitier’s outfit, a somewhat garish, ill-fitting mix of burgundy and burnt orange, feels out of place, making him appear exoticised beside the grey-suited establishment figures of Parks and Bobby, visually reinforcing the power imbalance. Lighting by Amy Mae plays a crucial role in shaping the mood. Stark, interrogative lighting casts deep shadows, reinforcing the feeling of entrapment. Subtle shifts in lighting reflect the evolving power struggle.

With Retrograde, Ryan Calais Cameron has crafted a play that not only honours Sidney Poitier’s legacy but also speaks powerfully to the present day. The dilemmas Poitier faced – navigating a system that demanded assimilation at the cost of authenticity – still ring true for many actors of colour today.



RETROGRADE

Apollo Theatre

Reviewed on 20th March 2025

by Ellen Cheshire

Photography by Marc Brenner

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

FAWLTY TOWERS THE PLAY | ★★★★★ | May 2024
MIND MANGLER | ★★★★ | March 2024
THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE | ★★★ | November 2023
POTTED PANTO | ★★★★★ | December 2022
CRUISE | ★★★★★ | August 2022
MONDAY NIGHT AT THE APOLLO | ★★★½ | May 2021

 

RETROGRADE

RETROGRADE

RETROGRADE

🎭 A TOP SHOW IN MARCH 2024 🎭

FOR BLACK BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE HUE GETS TOO HEAVY

★★★★

Garrick Theatre

FOR BLACK BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE HUE GETS TOO HEAVY at the Garrick Theatre

★★★★

“a beautifully poetic and bold piece of theatre”

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, takes your brain and your heart. It is a rollercoaster party for all, as Ryan Calais Cameron’s award-winning production returns to the West End for a limited season.

Starring in the now iconic roles in this new production of FBB, are a powerful new blend of talented actors: Tobi King Bakare (Onyx), Shakeel Haakim (Pitch) making his professional debut, Fela Lufadeju (Jet), Albert Magashi (Sable), Mohammed Mansaray (Obsidian) and Posi Morakinyo (Midnight). The cast of six young Black men are all in sync with each other and shine with their own identities and characters, with laugh out loud humour and exposed vulnerability.

It makes for a beautifully poetic and bold piece of theatre.

 

 

The show opens with a stunning piece of slow motion movement which then explodes with the colourful individual characters telling their stories of the beauty and burden of being black – and just being a human. This is a story of manhood and masculinity in Black Britain today, flowing through dance, monologues and music.

We meet the six young men in what appears to be a safe space therapy group telling their bravura stories about father figures or lack of, and macho sex. They are all about “how to be the right type of Black man” showing power and strength. But we also see snippets of their childhoods when they were bullied or not chased by the girls in kiss chase – because of the colour of their skin. They are visceral, and the aggressive and powerful choreography by Theophilus O. Bailey, shows the perception of angry young Black men, and how they articulate themselves when words fail them.

In act two, the set designed by Anna Reid, opens up into a fantasy fluorescent playground where the men feel safe to tell their truths with pain and honesty. The choreography softens but is equally as powerful. Self-aware and touchingly naïve, they talk poetically of their mothers’ eyes, their need for love, love found and love lost, abuse, peer pressure and sexuality….. as they each expose their raw vulnerability.

 

 

And that’s when they start to sing. As their trust grows their harmonies soar, as they show tenderness and emotion towards each other. Together these men are electric.

FBB is a stunningly slick show directed by the writer Ryan Calais Cameron, with music and sound by Nicola T. Chang.

In Cameron’s, For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, the message to those who have considered suicide is to learn to love yourself – and breathe. It is a very current and universal story – young men and mental health. It is about all young men who have considered suicide.


FOR BLACK BOYS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE HUE GETS TOO HEAVY at the Garrick Theatre

Reviewed on 7th March 2024

by Debbie Rich

Photography by Johan Persson

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

HAMNET | ★★★ | October 2023
THE CROWN JEWELS | ★★★ | August 2023
ORLANDO | ★★★★ | December 2022
MYRA DUBOIS: DEAD FUNNY | ★★★★ | September 2021

FOR BLACK BOYS WHO

FOR BLACK BOYS WHO

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