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Tamasha Theatre Company with Rewrite Lyrical MC
by Sita Brahmachari
Oval House Theatre 6 - 7 February 2008
A review by Alan Taylor for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Lyrical MC is a project by Tamasha focusing on cultural diversity and the problems of communication in the classroom. Collated through actual conversations with pupils of different ethnic backgrounds from around the country, Lyrical MC aims to give a voice to fight prejudice, and the exploration of identity to pupils of different ethnic origin growing up in 21st Century Britain. Told much as it probably was recounted to Brahmachari and the rest of Tamasha, this piece is centred around 15 pupils sitting in a semi circle and sharing theirs and their family’s experiences using a combination of native languages, English and pidgin. This gives an excellent touch of deconstructing the language barrier, and how intonation and body language convey much more than words. It also gives a mouthpiece to all the different cultures that are present: Polish, Oriental or Jamaican. The play also has some touching stories, like a girl whose only desire is to play a lead role in The Tempest, but because of her perceived inability to speak English, she is cast as an animal, or family homes split between their cultural heritage and the new found culture of Britain. The piece is fairly inactive as it takes place in a classroom where the children mainly stay seated - this feels more like a ‘sharing experience’ than a play as such. The use of music breaks up the action, but the designated ‘dancer’ can sometimes provide too much of an overstated action for what should be centred on subtle revelations. Although adventurous and sensitively dealt with, this piece has some great moments, but can have no direction. Its intention is clear, and its politicised cannon comes more from the honesty of the youths’ stories than from the more overt statements. At one point it references the lyrical terrorist, Samina Malik, and criticises the government for censoring freedom of speech. However, it is straying into dangerous (and not necessarily thought provoking or controversial) territories that detract from its beauty. Is condoning this behaviour really giving voice to an ethnic minority? The sentiment is appreciated, but the statement is somewhat misguided. As with the slightly jarring reference of “Blair, Brown, Brown, Blair”; it strays into political domains that should be steered clear of. A very surprising piece as ‘yoof fear-ter’ can so often be horrendous and terribly mismanaged, Brahmachari has done an excellent job of collating conversations of the youths she worked with whilst avoiding making it patronising and not compromising the artistic integrity of the piece. Some great stories and some brilliant insights into the communication failures government and education are having with today’s diverse classrooms, Lyrical MC is a very neat little piece. At times, some moments that try and keep it urban and ‘real’ can grate slightly, but definitely accessible for all races, and a flash of insight in the wilderness of cultural diversity.
Lyrical MC is running on the 7th of February at 1.30pm and 7.30pm
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