Review: The Legends of Them (Royal Court Theatre)

Review by Sam Waite

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Returning to the London stage after a sell-out run at Brixton House in 2023, The Legends of Them’s transfer to the Royal Court could be seen as something of a victory lap. Indeed, playwright and star Sutara Gayle has plenty to be proud of in her life – from awards won as reggae icon Lorna Gee, to featuring in Tina’s original West End cast, to a series of supporting performances in high-profile series, this multi-hyphenate seems able to step into whichever space she pleases. Of course, The Legends of Them strives to remind us that such acclaim does not always constitute personal victory.

Born Lorna Gayle in 1963, taking on the name Sutara following a transformative visit to India some years ago, her struggles both personal and professional are laid bare to her audience. Alongside the more traditional industry insider fare – the drugs, the fight to be taken seriously, the burying of lesbian relationships – is the more unique, more personally devastating stories, including a sister whose death served as the catalyst for 1985’s Brixton riots. Gayle and co-creator Jo McInnes make no effort to soften this blow, allowing the trauma and the grief which enveloped Sutara to envelop her audience nearly 40 years later.

McInnes’ direction plays to Gayle’s strengths as a storyteller – she isn’t asked to wander about the stage, bringing motion and physicality to her well-told truths. Instead, she stays largely in place, gestures representing her becoming other characters in her past, and a hand-held microphone allowing her to move briskly into musical interludes. Without the distraction of excessive blocking, McInnes has been able to home in on Gayle as a performer, her assured guidance brining things just close enough to the surface, while encouraging an effective pushing down of others.

Of course, it helps greatly that Gayle is a veteran of the entertainment industry and is utterly commanding in her presence. It took some time for me to acknowledge just how much of the play was delivered from isolated spots on the stage, so transformative and emotionally moving is her writing and delivery. Her award-winning musicality also shines through, softening the potential awkwardness of moments where the show borders on becoming a one-woman musical, her lyricism and ability to put personality and passion into her vocals absolutely spellbinding. Assisted by composer Christella Litras, these moments of song are always welcome, often a moving or effective way to build characterisation or reintroduce music to the narrative.

There is, at times, perhaps too much happening within this 80-minute production. Alongside insights into her reggae career as Lorna Gee, there is ample time spent with Sutara’s family both before and in the wake of her sister’s passing, and at times it is difficult to take more than these two key factors on board and really absorb the importance of other family members, or other key details of her life. Tyler Forward and Daniel Batters’ projections literally bathe Gayle in her own history, forcing both herself and her audience to reckon with the depths of her pain – the effect is beautiful, but makes other details that much harder to recall later.

For a show shaped by its relationship to music, Elena Pena’s work as sound designer is invaluable – so often I found myself glancing to one side, convinced I’d heard a voice from nearby in her rich, well-woven tapestry of sounds. Likewise, Tony Gayle’s presence as a live sound consultant helps ensure that this carefully-curated experience isn’t marred by its placement in a new venue, or the differences a new audience can bring to sound design. Indeed, the collaboration between artists in visual and auditory fields is a highlight of the production, and demonstrates an attention to detail which serves The Legends of Them incredibly well.

Moving, powerful, and a full realisation of Sutara Gayle’s many gifts, there is no arguing that The Legends of Them is a visceral, deeply-felt piece of theatre. While I may have found it difficult to keep up with the myriad of stories which shaped this singular artist, those which I most fully understand and engaged with left me truly moved, righteously angry, and with a  deeper understanding of Sutara’s life and work. The Legends of Them’s specificity, its uniqueness to its subject, make for a genuinely one of a kind evening of theatre.

The Legends of Them plays at the Royal Court Theatre until December 21st

For tickets and information visit https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/the-legends-of-them/#info

 Photos by Harry Elletson