Review by Harry Bower
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A child of Nigerian immigrants, silver tongued Lil’ D sits on his bike surveying the Peckham council estate before him. His ‘dream team’ of family and friends surround him, all impacting the lens through which he sees the world. In the distance there are gunshots emanating from the part of the estate he is forbidden to visit. At school in his blazer, which is three sizes too big for him, he tries and fails to chat up his crush. The opening scenes of Sunny Side Up could be straight out of an autobiography, but are instead the bedrock of a beautiful lyrical solo exploration of self by writer-performer David Alade.
Lil’ D, as Alade frequently reminds us, is his alter ego. A vehicle through which he is able to tell his story. It’s a story of love, of grief, of growing up black in London as a child of immigrants, of mental health, and of keeping the memory of loved ones alive. Breaking the fourth wall throughout, Alade walks us through Lil' D’s upbringing; school years and early adulthood, each significant period acted out or described with gorgeous spoken word and imaginative physical theatre. From the naive and sensitive start in primary school, a gradual loss of innocence and journey into adolescence, right down to gang encounters and being ‘saved’ by University; it’s a whistle stop tour.
Every encounter is framed by interactions with Sunny (Sunday Alade who in real life passed away in 2018), the loving father so connected with his cheeky son. Sunny, Lil' D tells us, was unlike any of his friends’ fathers. In touch with his emotions and determined to bring him up in a compassionate, positive and love-oriented way, Sunny has an impact on his son in more ways that he could possibly have imagined. As Lil' D makes his way through life, the return interactions with Sunny become more difficult thanks to poor health. As we find out, these encounters make him the man he is today.
David Alade plays all the characters in the piece with a charming and bright energy which lights up the room. After some rushed delivery at the start of the piece he warms up, and has us in the palm of his hand. His comic timing is delicious, and frequently turns on a dime to deliver a hammer blow when we’re least expecting it. He is a confident and capable storyteller who has mastered the art of lulling the audience into a false sense of security. I found his emotional resilience in the piece particularly impressive; when you know it’s his own real story being told, it adds significant weight to the performance.
Such a believable and authentic performance is enabled by an irresistible writing style which wraps the audience in its arms and never lets go for the full hour. The pace of the piece is finely balanced, the nuance in the narrative storytelling is intelligent, and it is a complete delight to listen to the poetic verse which showcase Alade’s writing at its very best. The moments in which story progression is sacrificed for lyrical metaphor or sensitive introversion are Sunny Side Up’s glorious peaks.
Unfortunately the spectacular writing is let down somewhat by some shoddy production elements. Lighting is erratic and frequently leaves Alade stranded in dark spots, and the rickety rattling ‘walls’ on wheels jolt us out of any sense of realism when they wobble while being moved. Projection of the estate is barely visible, and sound effects are mixed at too inconsistent a volume which leaves the piece sounding less slick, and more amateur. It’s unusual in a four star review to criticise elements which make up the overall production. If it sounds harsh it’s simply because the outstanding writing and heart wrenching performance simply deserved better. In fairness, this run is a short return for a piece and the Upstairs space at Soho isn’t the most flexible.
The piece ends with Alade dropping the pretence that this is anything other than his own story played out on stage, and a rallying cry to the audience. It’s a message which is more direct than it needs to be, but hits just as hard as you’d imagine. Above the sniffles reverberating around the room you can almost hear cogs of thought whirring in people’s brains as memories of those we’ve lost are stirred. That’s a beautiful thing only made possible by this deeply affecting piece of theatre. Sunny would be proud to have such a positive enduring legacy.
Sunny Side Up plays at Soho Theatre until Saturday 01 June 2024. For more information visit: https://sohotheatre.com/events/sunny-side-up/
Photos by Lidia Crisafulli
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