Review: THIS BITTER EARTH, Soho Theatre
Photo credit: Tristram Kenton
This Bitter Earth is the hopeful story of unconditional love between a gay, interracial couple through darkness, discord and division. Originally commissioned in 2015, following blatant displays of racism in the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and more, we now see it reborn with a creative inspiration and team that, at each step, have leant on the most tightly knotted heartstrings, prioritising discussions of sexuality and race and holding personal relationships to the heart of their work, intrinsically linked to their characters healing and survival.
From the man this cast calls director, three-time Tony award winner Billy Porter, to award-winning playwright Harrison David Rivers, to BAFTA and Olivier award-nominated Omari Douglas playing Jesse Howard, to the much-loved Alexander Lincoln as Neil Finley-Darden, and the raw, politically charged words of Essex Hemphill, closely observed over the play’s duration.
The fourth wall is broken immediately, along with any inhibitions amongst the audience, making way for roars of laughter, humming recognition, snaps and claps abound, but soon we see that it may not be within or not within walls but the mind. Genius setting design by Morgan Large reads as a time capsule of sorts for the blessings of which our star takes care, as is Hemphill’s philosophy. Projection allows certain scenes to break free of those confines in moments of contemplation, bringing what is on the mind out into reality. Structurally a tapestry, creased and folded, the stitching is intricate perfection. The show moves with rhythm and musicality and a pleasing fluidity controlled with music, under the expert watch of sounds and soundscape designer Julian Starr. Masters of that performer’s cliché of ‘sitting in the pocket’, Douglas and Lincoln brilliantly hold the tension of a scene through the transition to the next, creating an excellent flow, to then find instant balance in their new emotional truth.
Getting to know the relationship of these men, with the majority of scenes of separation, is like coming to understand the strength of the glue from seeing the clear lines of the fractures. Contrast, of course, exists in holding the black experience up to the white experience. However, the duality does not end there. You also find that Rivers, in these characters, has personified the different sides of charisma. You find that Jesse is words and Neil is actions, in how they advocate, how they lash out, how they pull each other close. Their incredible chemistry with one another is almost as impressive as their ability to find a home in the world they created, demonstrating a trust in themselves as performers that blends the line of reality to a transcendent degree. Omari Douglas, renowned for his portrayals on screen in It’s A Sin and on stage in Constellations, gives a performance of mind-blowing emotional and vocal control, from exercising his comedic timing and delivery to unbridled rage. Alexander Lincoln, previously of Emmerdale and Netflix’s In from the Side fame, is an absolute natural on stage, with a winning charm and inviting sensitivity.
Encapsulated by the 1960s song of the same title by rhythm and blues singer, Dinah Washington, also recorded by such icons as Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, This Bitter Earth sees a beautiful concept come full circle and this production, although in some places could stand to hold us by a tighter grip, demonstrates pure artistic intent by utilising the space between simplicity and depth to give that concept life onstage. Imaginative setting and use of space and time, made possible in wonderful direction by Billy Porter and epic lighting by Lee Curran, sparks an artistic aura built on joy and heartbreak. There is push and pull and rise and fall, and you follow willingly because you feel protected by the undeniable sense of connection in the room. A room of one mind, the villain outside, and we speak not of strategy but of experience.
Queerness allowed to just exist, and blackness allowed to take up space, unapologetically, this is a show that makes art out of progress, in every definition there is. It discusses what we keep close, what we keep distant and what risks are worth taking as, through living memories, we see a story in all its forms; the moment, the sharing, the artistic expression it inspires, the understanding it allows, and the retelling and reliving, until details fade and all that matters is that you were both there. We see cinematic visuals where it feels like the kind of movie that, whether simply reliving the magic or hoping for a different outcome, you rewatch over and over again. Played out in close-up frame and in wide feeling, poetic lines shine through in a brilliantly grounded script.
As is tackled throughout the show and encapsulated in its final words, wonderfully written by Rivers and beautifully delivered by Douglas, it is with our minds, with the words we write, with the people we love that we determine stories worth telling and hope to find this earth may not be so bitter after all.
Specific. Real. Authentic. Articulate.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Louisa Clarke
This Bitter Earth plays at London’s Soho Theatre until 26 July, with further info here.
