| The Women of Llanrhumney- Critical Acclaim for the Sherman in London Continued |
At the Sherman |
| Reviews compilation of Sherman production , Stratford East Theatre London , April 3, 2025 |
Joe Murphy in interview in 2020 said: “We have to change who gets to tell the stories, how they are told. We need a mechanism in place to counterbalance the lack of privilege, we need to counterbalance that with training programmes, with writer experiences, all sorts of things to get them into the building, get the skills going, get them up on stage and working.”The Stage headed its review: “London transfer of Azuka Oforka’s searing debut play highlights colonial cruelty, with magnetic performances from Nia Roberts and Shvorne Marks.” “Set on a Jamaican sugar-cane plantation in 1765, Azuka Oforka’s piercing, powerful drama illuminates a dark and under-discussed chapter of British history through an absorbing human story of resistance, complicity, and class dynamics. “The plantation in question, Llanrumney, is named for the South Wales birthplace of Captain Henry Morgan – infamous pirate, slaveowner and sometime lieutenant governor of Jamaica. We quickly learn that the understaffed estate is on the verge of bankruptcy, the great mansion at its rotten heart occupied only by three women – dissipated, narcissistic noble Elisabeth and her enslaved housekeepers Annie and Cerys. “Developed through Sherman Theatre’s Unheard Voices programme – which platforms work by writers from under-represented demographics – the piece marks a confident, compelling debut from The Stage Debut award-winner Oforka. While the sprawling scenes, delivered at a stately pace, feel overstretched in places, the characters are brilliantly realised – richly drawn, full of compelling complications and fascinating contradictions. Director Patricia Logue handles the weighty subject matter with a deft touch, never shying away from the horror of the situation, yet finding moments of humour and touching, bittersweet intimacy. “Stella-Jane Odoemelam’s elegant set presents a lavishly appointed dining room overlooked by an ivy-shrouded balcony, while leafy pot plants suggest the tropical environment on the other side of the white-painted walls. Ian Barnard’s natural soundscape provides another reminder of the Jamaican location with chirping insects and rustling foliage. Between scenes, composer Takisha Sargent introduces bursts of music, opening with airy, frivolous strings that grow more ominous, joined by rhythmic drumming as the situation on the island reaches boiling point. “Shvorne Marks’ Cerys speaks little and spends much of her time hovering in the background, but remains a magnetic presence, watchful, focused and ferocious. In contrast, Suzanne Packer is a cold, more reserved presence as Annie, born into slavery, deeply indoctrinated into its hierarchies and desperate to cling to the small privileges that she is afforded as housekeeper. Packer gives a superbly nuanced performance, peeling back layers of fear, self-loathing and survival instinct as she begins to question her loyalties. And Matthew Gravelle brings depth and humour to several roles as a procession of male suitors prowling predatorily around Elisabeth – each awful in a different way. “Oforka skilfully uses these characters’ conflicting motivations and differing perspectives to build an incisive critique of colonialism, rightly excoriating those who made fortunes from enslavement and exploitation, and honouring those who resisted – or simply survived – the brutalities of the plantation system.” Abridged, with thanks and acknowledgement, from the full review which can be read at: https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/the-women-of-llanrumney-review-by-azuka-oforka-at-theatre-royal-stratford-east-london * * * * Whatsonstage was there: “Following last year’s premiere in Cardiff, debut award-winning playwright Azuka Oforka’s The Women Of Llanrumney has arrived at Stratford East in London. Set in 1765, and based on the real-life Llanrumney plantation in Saint Mary parish in Jamaica, we delve into the complexities of the Transatlantic Slave Trade portrayed through the eyes of three distinct women. ...“Elisabeth Morgan (Nia Roberts) is heading for financial ruin after squandering and mismanaging her financial assets. Plus, her plantation crops are damaged and it will cost £20,000 to clear all of her debts. Her pending downfall will have a detrimental impact not only on herself as she’ll be forced to take a three-month boat trip back to Wales, but also on the lives of her enslaved staff. Alongside Elisabeth, the cast includes housekeeper Annie (Suzanne Packer) and daughter Cerys (Shvorne Marks), who are joined by Matthew Gravelle, playing all three male characters and the different accents that go with each role. “Cerys is pregnant and could not be more different in her defiant attitude than her doting mother, Annie, who wouldn’t even dream of eating the slave master’s food. Cerys, in contrast, is disgusted by the greed, and gluttony of white people – wasting food and money at any given opportunity. “...Stella-Jane Odoemelam’s set and costume design perfectly depict the plantation era and transport us to this problematic period of time – comprising of a typical two-storey house with a balcony and foliage. Elisabeth wears opulent robes, reminiscent of this period of time. “...This play is perfectly timed as we celebrate the unheard, unsung heroic women of the slave rebellion. As painful as it is to go back to that dreadful time, Oforka has written a poignant, historical play which boldly salutes the fierce, feisty and brave enslaved women of that period and serves as a testament to their resilience and resistance.” Abridged, with thanks and acknowledgement, from the full review which can be read at: https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-women-of-llanrumney-at-stratford-east-review_1670999/ * * * * Time Out was there: “Azuka Oforka’s uneven but engrossing play ruthlessly pushes the surface incongruity of the fact that it’s set in an 18th-century Jamaican sugar plantation with the none-more-Welsh name of Llanrumney. Though Oforka’s characters are fictional, Llanrumney is a real place that was owned by the Welsh Morgan family. The play premiered last year at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, and clearly tying Wales to slavery is a potent gesture in front of a Welsh audience that can’t quite be replicated here. Nonetheless, the English are not wriggling out of this one. “It’s a play with a lot of moving parts, which eases us in by starting with the fraught relationship between slaves Annie (Suzanne Packer) and Cerys (Shvorne Marks). Annie is Llanrumney’s housekeeper and the illegitimate daughter of its late owner. Cerys is her barely acknowledged daughter. It’s 1765, just four years after huge slave revolt Tacky’s rebellion, and the threat of violence hangs in the air. Annie is of the mindset that it‘s best to make herself indispensable to the whites in exchange for a better life and elevated hopes of manumission. Cerys dreams of rebellion and the end to the oppressive status quo. “But though they have our sympathies, the main engine of the story is Nia Roberts’s plantation owner Elisabeth. A boozy society queen who revels in the freedoms that Jamaica affords a (white) woman, she soon comes crashing back to ground when her crop fails. ...“The Women of Llanrumney” is an interesting and heartfelt debut play. At its best it offers a subversion of British period drama cliches and the romanticisation of master-servant relations within the genre.I’d say the characters aren’t quite there yet. But it’s a window into a period in history that could do with a good deal more light thrown upon it Abridged, with thanks and acknowledgement, from the full review which can be read at: https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/the-women-of-llanrumney-review * * * * The British Theatre Guide was there: “Azuka Oforka writes in the show’s programme about visiting Llanrumney Hall in Cardiff, “the supposed birthplace of Captain Henry Morgan”. The caption beneath his “grand portrait” read “Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica 1636–1688.” “Nowhere did it mention that he was a pirate who looted other countries and his own troops, owned a plantation of slaves and was responsible for keeping Jamaica a safe place for the brutal continuation of the slave trade. Just then, Azuka got a message from the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff suggesting a meeting “to discuss ideas for plays.” Thus emerged the first performance of The Women of Llanrumney in Cardiff. “...We first meet Elizabeth after a night on the tiles, whooping it up as the young, grand lady of plantation society. She has dedicated her life to having the freedom in Jamaica that is not open to her in Britain. It’s the life she would continue if not for the crop disease on her plantation, throwing that into doubt with a sudden unexpected loss of earnings. To make matters worse, she already owes the rich, white planter, Mr Aisworth, considerable sums of money he loaned her for an extravagant lifestyle.” Abridged, with thanks and acknowledgement, from the full review which can be read at: https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/the-women-of-ll-theatre-royal-s-24267 Picture credit: Chuko Cribb |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
This review has been read 208 times There are 94 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
