
Chiaroscuro
4 (2) · Poetry & Spoken Word, Contemporary Drama
Chiaroscuro: (noun) the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting.
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Overview
I want to find it all now know our names know the others in history so many women have been lost at sea so many stories have been swept away
Aisha, Yomi, Beth and Opal couldn’t be more different, but when Aisha hosts a dinner party, the friends soon discover that they’re all looking for an answer to the same question. Does it lie in Aisha’s childhood? Or in Beth and Opal’s new romance? Who will tell them who they really are?
What starts out as a friendly conversation between women, soon turns heated when Yomi reveals what she really thinks about Beth and Opal’s relationship.
Live music and spoken word collide in an explosive gig-theatre event that breathes new life into Scottish National Poet Jackie Kay’s 1986 masterpiece. Directed by Lynette Linton (Sweat, Richard II), this bold reimagining explores the experiences of women of colour across generations and celebrates female identity from the 1980s to now.
Critic reviews
Particular praise goes to the original music, composed by Shiloh Coke and performed live by the cast members themselves. The instrumental parts weave through the words in a soothing way
It's packed full of a triumphant force, which has so much soul and makes an excellent case for how wonderful humanity can be
She writes with a rare passion and poetry, but her characterization is quite bitty and the storytelling is sketchy
The performances are glorious, Shiloh Cooke’s score is both heady and lyrical, and there is a huge pleasure simply in being in a room where the audience keep erupting with laughter
If this is just the start of what new artistic director Lynette Linton will do at the Bush Theatre, it’s going to be a venue that warrants religious attendance
Overall, Chiaroscuro feels well-meant but under-powered, not as subtle or as interesting as its title suggests. A missed opportunity
Lynette Linton’s debut as artistic director is a musical revival of an undramatic piece about the dilemmas of four women
Lynette Linton's first production as artistic director of the Bush Theatre is a bold and playful staging of Jackie Kay’s play
For all the sparkle of the performances, the play lacks firm structure and, though fairly short, flags in the final third before an up-tempo finale
This is an exceptionally tender piece. Linton allows many touching moments to unfurl gently – or suddenly ambushes you with emotion
Timeless BAME drama that draws you into an emotive jam-session