Review: Hear Me Now, VAULT Festival

Review: Hear Me Now, VAULT Festival

Hear Me now is the elegant new play, written and directed by Mya Onwugbonu. It held its first run at Southwark Playhouse in November 2022 earlier than being picked up for the VAULT Festival 2023. This one act tableaux of spoken phrase poetry, motion, and scenes depict the results of racism in Britain at the moment with nuance and depth, creating self-reflection all through the viewers, working wonders as an addition to this yr’s competition.

Entering The Vaults feels a profoundly totally different vitality than a typical theatre venue. The effervescent graffiti artwork overlaying the partitions and the underground really feel present the proper setting for an revolutionary and trendy piece of London theatre corresponding to Hear Me Now. The playful and younger feeling of the efficiency area tantalisingly compliments the brand new and revolutionary writing being portrayed. Upon getting into The Cavern, the area the efficiency takes place in, we’re seated on two rows of benches both aspect of a tunnel formed room. Around us are lovely artworks depicting totally different facets of the black expertise, including to the apparent and needed celebration of Black-created artwork. This traverse/catwalk stage completely compliments the mandatory self-reflection that this present encourages; we because the viewers are spectators who’re accountable to create a greater, extra equal future that acknowledges our variations and the harm carried out by means of historical past.

The manufacturing started with all the solid getting into the area, instantly whisking us away into the dynamic and endlessly fruitful poetry of Onwugbonu, who makes use of language to remind the viewers that each Black expertise is totally different, however nonetheless intrinsically linked. The actuality of the phrases being stated, mixed with the high-fantastical supply felt contemporary, particular person, and profitable in making the reveals content material memorable. 

While the standard of writing was the evident spine of this manufacturing’s success, it will be unjust to not highlight the work of the solid. This group of performers work efficiently as a collective to spotlight a spectrum of British Black people’ experiences with race. From faculty college students, to folks, to lecturers, the solid work impeccably to current this linguistically difficult textual content to such a excessive diploma of success. Some specific particular person contributions value noting embrace Sofia Keita who presents an actual and identifiable younger Black voice dealing with difficulties in class, Zee Obeng whose steadfast efficiency creates a thread working all through the work, and the gut-wrenching demonstration from Corey Fraser illustrating the results of knife crime in Britain. The ensemble as a complete uplift and encourage a well-rounded and thought-provoking efficiency.

Leaving this present with a profound sense of self-evaluation, pleasure, heartbreak and promise felt like an ideal allegory of what I had simply witnessed. Onwugbonu describes Hear Me Now as ‘Community, Blackness and Art,’ and that is precisely what it’s – and a lot extra. This work ought to be shared and inspired because it delivers nice strides in contributing in direction of a greater future for everybody.

Written and directed by: Mya Onwugbonu
Produced by: Burnt Orange Theatre

Hear Me Now performed as a part of VAULT Festival 2023. It has now accomplished its present run.