Theatre Review - Death of England: Michael & Delroy

Thomas Coombes in Death of England [Helen Murray]

CLINT Dyer and Roy Williams’ three state-of-the nation plays, Death of England, confront what it means to be British today, told from four viewpoints.

The first two parts, Michael and Delroy, are performed by Thomas Coombes and Paapa Essiedu respectively. Playing in rep, they focus on the experiences of two working-class friends, one white, the other black, and reflect and speak to one another.

The final part of the trilogy, Closing Time, a female two-hander, opens later in the month.

Michael is mourning the loss of his flower-seller dad. The pair had mainly bonded over football and a pint. Even though Michael’s best friend, Delroy, is black, Michael’s father never curbed his rampant racism.

Michael tries to make sense of their relationship, delivering a drug-fuelled speech at the funeral. Terrific writing is let down by a rather unconvincing segment towards the end that paints Michael’s dad in a new light.

Despite familial tensions Michael’s sister Carly (represented here by a toy bulldog) and Delroy are in a relationship.

Paapa Essiedu in Death of England [Helen Murray]

In the second drama, Delroy is on the way to see Carly in hospital where she is about to give birth to their child. But caught up in a case of mistaken identity, he is detained the police. Delroy, who voted Leave and for Boris, is full of contradictions.

Dyer’s compelling productions are staged on a raised platform in the shape of a St George Cross (a clever design by Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and Ultz). Objects dotted around the playing area represent the friends’ memories or stand in for other characters.

Coombes and Essiedu give energetic and sympathetic performances, switching effortlessly from fury to light-hearted banter with the audience.

Both 100-minute monologues could be shorter, but they are powerful explorations of race, identity, nationalism and class and essential viewing in these troubled times.

Until September 28

sohoplace.org/

Originally published by Camden New Journal