Theatre Review - Shifters
Tosin Cole and Heather Agyepong in Shifters [Marc Brenner]
BENEDICT Lombe is only the third black British woman to have a play staged in the West End.
Now her refreshing modern-day love story is set to be adapted into a TV series.
Shifters premiered at the Bush Theatre earlier in the year and stunning performances, Lombe’s writing and Lynette Linton’s sparkling production wowed audiences and ensured it was quickly snapped up for a transfer.
Both a tender romcom and bittersweet comedy, this two-hander centres black British experience.
At school, Des (Heather Agyepong) British Congolese, and Dre (Tosin Cole), of Nigerian heritage, bond over music and the debating society. Their teenage affection quickly blossoms into something more that both find hard to express.
Des and Dre seem destined to be together, but life gets in the way. Over the course of 100 minutes, Lombe tracks back and forth in time to give us their stories.
We follow pivotal moments in their relationship as they navigate different ambitions and emotions – love, doubt, jealousy and loss.
They reunite at Dre’s nan’s funeral after not seeing each other for eight years.
Des, the middle-class daughter of a doctor is now a successful artist who moved to the US for her career. Dre grew up on a council estate, chose to stay close to home, and fulfilled his lifelong desire to own a small restaurant.
As the memories come back, thick and fast, the pair must decide whether they have a future together.
Recreating the Bush’s intimacy, Shifters is staged on a traverse stage (with audience members on either side).
Alex Berry’s versatile black boxes give a vivid sense of lives in transit while Neil Austin’s evocative strip lighting (suspended over the stage) conveys the shifts in time and mood.
Heartfelt, but never sentimental. A delight.
Until October 12