Review: Black Is The Color of My Voice (Theatre Royal Stratford East)
- Sam - Admin
- Jun 12, 2024
- 3 min read
Review by Dan Sinclair
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nina Simone is without a doubt one of the most influential voices of the 20th century. It was powerful enough to cement her as the most famous jazz singer of all time, but also to make her a leading voice of the 1960s civil rights movement - and this is the focus of Black Is The Color Of My Voice.
Written and performed by Apphia Campbell, Black Is The Color Of My Voice was originally staged back in 2014 in Shanghai before transferring to New York and then the Edinburgh Fringe to rave reviews. Across the subsequent 10 years, it has frequently toured internationally before landing at Stratford East for the end of its UK tour. To its very bones, this is a show that seeks to remind an audience of the mark Nina Simone left on the world through her music, activism, persona and laugh. Whilst it never tries to do an impression of Nina Simone, her guttural laugh is almost instantly recognisable.
To be to the point, Apphia Campbell is utterly captivating. A monologue play rests on the talent of its performer, and I’ve never seen a solo performance quite as strong as Campbell’s. My little red notebook was surprisingly empty, I realised that I didn’t ever want to look away (I dropped my pencil for a good while and just thought ‘oh well’). Her stage presence was remarkable, but that’s not to say that it was busy - often it was calm and still, but something about her just draws you in and holds you. As a play with music, it is also demanding vocally, and Campbell thrives. Through song, she finds her own voice. There is no way she could ever imitate the voice of Simone. Treating us to some of the Simone Standards, (Feeling Good, I Put a Spell On You, Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, Mississippi Goddam) Campbell’s voice is full of emotion, heartbreak and warmth. The writing does a surprisingly good job of smoothly integrating the songs, moments often taking us into the nightclubs and stages which defined Simone/Bordeaux’s life. The question then is why not five stars?
While checking Citymapper outside the theatre, the first thing I heard an audience member say was ‘So was she supposed to be Nina Simone or not?’ Black Is The Color Of My Voice is openly ‘inspired by the life of Nina Simone’, not biographical. Campbell chooses to use the invented character of Mena Bordeaux to ‘free the actress to use her voice in its most authentic and powerful state’, to merely conjure the spirit of Nina Simone. In the final performance, I think this only confuses the audience. This staging would work if the show didn’t exclusively use the music of Simone and a story that so closely resembles the real life of its inspiration. As the songs and plot prove, I do not think that fully committing to the real figure of Simone would actually restrict it. Campbell is clearly a strong enough performer to reject any issues of impersonation.
For a touring/fringe scale set, the design is strong. A bed, wooden chair and desk is enough to let us into the world of Bordeaux’s ritual - a three day spiritual detox. With direction from Arran Hawkins and impressive lighting design by Clancy Flynn, the simple chair quickly functions as a family piano and busy nightclub. A special mention goes to the sound design of Joseph Degnan for the most convincing ‘someone knocking on a door’ sound effect I’ve heard in a theatre.
After taking us through the turbulent life of this jazz singer and the 1960s civil rights movement, the piece ends on a surprisingly hopeful note, ‘It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me and I’m feeling good.’ And from the instant standing ovation, the audience agrees.
Black Is The Color Of My Voice is playing at Stratford East until June 15th.
Photos by Geraint Lewis