12 October – 11 November

Nancy Medina kicks off her directing tenure at Bristol’s Old Vic with this sensitive story set in an American boys’ school whose pride and joy is its choir. The title of the play could refer to any of the boys in the choir, but specifically it singles out Pharus. Pharus, played, with a delicate strength by Terique Jarrett, is gay in a school where being gay does not seem to be a particular problem, but where being openly gay is. As one character reports to Headmaster Marrow (Daon Broni) a stern disciplinarian with a soul, following an incident in the showers, “I saw two people being people”.

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play proceeds by incremental shifts in mood and focus whilst building a picture of young men navigating one of the most formative periods of their lives. The storyline follows the friction between Pharus and Bobby (Alistair Nwachukwu) who is nephew to Headmaster Marrow. During a performance to the school by the choir, Bobby, himself black, gibes Pharus with a racial and homophobic slur which causes Pharus to turn away from the audience, thus incurring the displeasure of the head. This one act sets up ripples which are played out through the play.

The subtleties of the various relationships are beautifully etched by a cast, singular in the uniformity of its high level of talent. It’s also a testament to the quality of the writing that the voice of each character is clear and unique. Strangely, to me at least, the school salute, no doubt meant as a bonding act in which they thud to attention and bring a closed fist across their chest, has an almost comical whiff of totalitarianism.

Aside from the main narrative thread there are classroom diversions into the economic roots of slavery and the ‘real’ meaning of Negro spirituals. However the play’s central theme is about navigating one’s way in a diverse and potentially hostile society in the process of becoming a rounded individual, whilst remaining true to oneself.

Being a play about a choir it’s no surprise to find music threading through the action. The singing bursts out spontaneously throughout the play and more often than not is conducted by a rhythmic and angular physicality which adds a descriptive layer to the transmission of the emotions that are exposed.

Whilst not without humour, the play is full of sensitivity, hope and compassion and is ultimately moving in its humanity.

★★★★☆ Graham Wyles, 21st October, 2023

photographer credit: Camilla Greenwell.