Red Bus Londinium Life

…blackbird hour, by abirye bukilwa, was a finalist for the Women’s prize for playwriting, the Bruntwood prize and the Alfred Fagon award. In the hands of director malakaï sargeant, it is a powerful and disturbing look into mental illness and how difficult it is for both the individual and for the supporters around them.

…blackbird hour is a production from disabled-led touring theatre company Vital Xposure in association with the Bush Theatre. It is currently playing at the Bush, ahead of a tour of Bristol, Leeds and Newcastle. It is a difficult but important watch.

Even as we enter the theatre, the projections, sounds and unkempt flat centre us in a space of distress. Eshe (Evlyne Oyedokun) has not left her flat for days and is haunted and criticised by the voice of her mother (Danielle Kassaraté in voiceover form). She is surrounded by detritus, drugs and alcohol.

The performance by Oyedokun was amongst the most extraordinary and profound I have ever seen. Mental illness is bleak, all-consuming and difficult for those around. Oyedokun captured Eshe’s vulnerability but also her power, her compassion but also her cruelty. Her portrayal of the effects of both mania and drugs was visceral and uncomfortably real.

Olivia Nakintu and Ivan Oyik provide accomplished supporting performances, each attempting to support Eshe with very differing emotional approaches alongside a hatred of each other. There are scenes where the pace is somewhat lost but the final act, where Nakintu and Oyik become almost robotic, underlines how long, exhausting and repetitive extending emotional support can be.

Lighting (Jahmiko Marshall) and video (Will Monks) are used creatively to enhance the experience of being chased by demons. The captions (also Will Monks), as well as adding accessibility to the performance, are ingeniously used in many different fonts and appearance and the musical way they are portrayed when Eshe was listening to records was especially effective.

For anyone who has mental health issues themselves or within their wider family, this show might provide the solace of familiarity but could also be very provoking. The theatre is kept open for fifteen minutes after each show for those who need the time to reflect and readjust.

The Bush Theatre is a venue where every show you see will teach you something even if sometimes the experience is a necessarily painful one. …blackbird hour is no exception to this and is recommended to those prepared to immerse themselves in the mind of a traumatised other.