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Barber Shop Chronicles
  • By Cal Kenny
  • |
  • 8th Jun 2017
  • |
  • ★★★★★

The Barber Shop Chronicles takes place in barber shops across the world, in Lagos, in Johannesburg, in Accra, in London and beyond. The shop becomes a space in which black masculinity and friendship is explored, through the profound, ridiculous, heated and ambivalent conversations men can have in a safe, community space. It is a joyful and generous production which is revolutionary precisely because it isn’t directed at a white audience.

The Barbershop Chronicles is an exultant and unapologetic production.

This production is about black experience; it showcases black stories for the black people watching and it doesn’t apologise for that, nor should it. A white audience member will find much to enjoy and admire – the whip-sharp dialogue, the laugh-out-loud gags, the excellent delivery – but The Barber Shop Chronicles wasn’t written for them. In English theatre, this makes Inua Ellam’s script unusual; to see it on the Dorfman stage of the National Theatre is almost unprecedented. But this is exactly the sort of the production that we need to see commissioned and championed by our theatres. The lives depicted in The Barber Shop Chronicles aren’t extraordinary, but they are often untold. In other productions, these characters might be marginalised at best and parodied at worst. To see them acknowledged and celebrated in one of Europe’s best-known theatres is exciting but also entirely right.

The production goes out of its way to be inclusive and immersive. The audience is made to feel like they are in on the action, sat on one of the chairs waiting for their fade. In the time it takes to walk across the set to find your seat you might be ushered over to a barber’s chair, greeted like an old friend or asked how you want your hair cutting. There is a jubilant atmosphere – everyone is mingling, chatting and dancing to the radio and as a result it feels personal and intimate from the outset.

Bijan Sheibani’s direction is smart, but consciously unslick. Scene changes are semi-chaotic; the actors wheel chairs around the stage, break into choreographed dance and sing in harmony. There is always the faint noise of a top-ten tune from 2008 playing tinnily in the background and characters talk over one another, shouting to be heard. The relationships between men in the play are exquisitely drawn and beautifully realised by the cast. There is warmth, humour and humanity throughout. Matters of both international and personal importance are discussed, but also withheld. Williams is excellent at playing with low and high rhetoric; one moment the characters are jovially mocking Winston about his girlfriend and the next scene might shift to a monologue about Mandela and his betrayal black South Africans. Presuppositions and audience expectations are challenged at every turn.

Perhaps only in the final scene does the writing threaten to become trite. When Ethan, a young black British actor, comes to the shop for a haircut before an audition, the dialogue turns to black masculinity and the different models for exploring it. The message has, however, been made by this point. There are many ways of being black, being male and being displaced, all of which are equally legitimate. The play ends on a jarringly sincere note, an earnestness which feels at odds with the rest of the dialogue. But this is a small scruple.

The Barbershop Chronicles is an exultant and unapologetic production. It is smart, thoughtful and uplifting. Never have I seen such a diverse audience at a London theatre; which surely means that the creative team behind this production achieved what they set out to do. I have no doubt that the success of this run will ensure that other minority ethnic voices find it easier in the future to find a platform and have their voices heard. 

Reviews by Cal Kenny

Dorfman - National Theatre

Barber Shop Chronicles

★★★★★
Southbank Centre

Bianco

★★★
Trafalgar Studio 1 / Trafalgar Studios

Buried Child

★★★
Southwark Playhouse

Side Show

★★
The Royal Court Theatre

Torn

★★★
Soho Theatre

Two Man Show

★★★★

Since you’re here…

… we have a small favour to ask. We don't want your money to support a hack's bar bill at Abattoir, but if you have a pound or two spare, we really encourage you to support a good cause. If this review has either helped you discover a gem or avoid a turkey, consider doing some good that will really make a difference.

You can donate to the charity of your choice, but if you're looking for inspiration, there are three charities we really like.

Mama Biashara
Kate Copstick’s charity, Mama Biashara, works with the poorest and most marginalised people in Kenya. They give grants to set up small, sustainable businesses that bring financial independence and security. That five quid you spend on a large glass of House White? They can save someone’s life with that. And the money for a pair of Air Jordans? Will take four women and their fifteen children away from a man who is raping them and into a new life with a moneymaking business for Mum and happiness for the kids.
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Performances

Location

The Blurb

One day. Six cities. A thousand stories.

Newsroom, political platform, local hot spot, confession box, preacher-pulpit and football stadium. For generations, African men have gathered in barber shops to discuss the world.

This dynamic new play leaps from a barber shop in London to Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Accra. These are places where the banter can be barbed and the truth is always telling.

Barber Shop Chronicles is Inua Ellams third play at the National, following the exhilarating The 14th Tale and Black T-shirt Collection.

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