Attempting a lighter look at academic debates and culture wars
makes Winsome Pinnock’s new play novel and entertaining. The
discovery of a slave owner’s archive and subsequent discussion
of reparations benefit from humour, and that is an achievement.
It is probably inevitable that the issues aren’t given their
due—it’s a big subject—but the result is a drama that feels
sketchy and unsatisfying.
Thankfully, there is much to enjoy, not least Miranda Cronwell’s
spirited direction. It’s a shame Jon Bausor’s expensive-looking
design slows things down. Pinnock highlights the complexity of
the situation as her characters—a wealthy landowner and two
academics from very different backgrounds—shift allegiances and
even identities to comic effect. These are memorable creations
that the cast—Rakie Ayola, Sylvestra Le Touzel, and Cherrelle
Skeete—do well with. The performances are broad but work well,
pushing similarities between the women and highlighting what
separates them in a bold, confrontational manner.
While the exaggerated characters are fun, they don’t help the
play’s struggles with credibility. Not least the authentication
of the journals, which might have been physically safer in otother
hands—librarians, look away! The irony is easy to dismiss—
Pinnock wants to address bigger questions. But more time is
needed to do that. It’s fine to leave matters open-ended and
sometimes funny, but the characters fail to defend or explain
their positions enough. They just declaim, and that becomes
tiresome.
Until 9 May 2026
Photo by Marc Brenner
