Gone Too Far!

Published Thursday 31 July 2008 at 13:45 by Alistair Smith

Perhaps I was expecting too much from Bola Agbaje’s debut play, which premiered in the Royal Court Upstairs last year and has now been given a run in the venue’s larger space, thanks to an Olivier Award and some sparkling reviews.

It’s not that this isn’t a good play - it is. And it deals with some very weighty and tough issues - the racial divisions within Britain’s black communities between, for example, those with Caribbean heritage and those with African heritage, as well as gun crime and disaffected youth.

It’s just that it feels a little rough around the edges to me.

The plot, which sees a south London youngster (Yemi) and his brother (Ikudayisi), recently arrived from Nigeria, pop out for some milk and encounter various problems along the way, has the slightly forced feel of a story that has been workshopped into existence.

And, while Agbaje is able to give some real insight into the problems which face black and mix-raced youth today, the whole scenario is a little too neat and tidy to seem real.

That said, there are some fabulous performances. Zawe Ashton is hilarously obnoxious as the loud and abrasive Armani, while Tobi Bakare as Yemi and Tunji Lucas as his newly-immigrated brother put it in two perfectly contrasting and complementary turns as the central duo.

The direction is also assured and the addition of urban dance sequences to link between scenes is an atmospeheric and fitting touch.