BANGERS

Being thrown somewhat out of my comfort zone or range of experience can be unnerving. I have little bordering on no knowledge of garage music and the club culture that surrounded it. So Bangers was bound to stretch me, and my initial reaction was to cover my ears, Bangers bangs, the music is explosively loud and it did take me back to my own clubbing experiences, albeit somewhat generationally earlier. How we ever met and conversed with people on those thunderously loud dance floors is a mystery, but we did and we loved it.

But beyond the loud music, heavy beats and pulsing lights Bangers is a love story, delivered by three super talented young actors who take on all the parts in this engaging tale of sexual awakening, discovery, love and loyalty. The script, delivered in couplets is a delight, an archaic form given a sharp contemporary twist and it really works. It moves along at a pace too, never dragging, the sharpness exaggerating the energy of the story. Vicky Moran’s direction has focus and precision and Jess Tucker Boyd’s direction of movement, something way beyond choreography, has an authenticity to it.

Clef is played by Kaine Lawrence with real charm and a tangible sense of innocence, and my can the guy sing, his rich soulful voice inhabits the songs and the piece as a whole. His portrayal of his other roles shows real versatility. His delivery of the social climbing bride to be is a comic masterpiece!

The same can be said of Jess Tucker Boyd who plays Aria, feisty and assured but again with an underlying vulnerability and again the delivery of her other roles is clear and confident.
Duramaney Kamara is the DJ, a Greek chorus and deliverer of structure and he has lashings of cheesy charm but also a sharpness that keeps things tight.

The whole was captivating, funny and at times moving. My biggest issue though was a technical one. Whilst much of the material was delivered with hand held mics and amplification, some of the verse was unamplified. The result, despite the cast projecting their voices, was unbalanced. Some moments of delivery, and the rapid fire way in which they were given were rather lost, and as previously mentioned, that was sad as it was so  beautifully scripted.

I came away feeling that I had missed out on that era of full on clubbing, but through the genre had been told a very engaging story of love and youthful awakening.

Andrew Kay

20 March

Brighton Dome Studio

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