“We walk” chant three black men as they walk through the Yorkshire landscape that some think is not for them. They walk for themselves as individuals, for each other and for their heritage.  “We walked England before the English”.

Dedicated to the Black Men’s Walking Group, Black Men Walking is an exploration not just through the hills and dales of a beguiling and sometimes perilous landscape, but through their own equally challenging identity and to get to the heart of what it means to be black and British.  Written with a mixture of powerful lyricism and genuine knockabout comedy by rapper Testament (aka Andy Brooks) for Eclipse Theatre this is the first national tour from Revolution Mix, which ambitiously seeks to spearhead the largest ever national delivery of Black British stories.

Characters are well defined and distinct; Tyrone Huggins as Thomas is the older, Sheffield accented man most in tune with the historical elements of Black people in Britain, but suffers from isolation and at times almost literally teeters on the abyss.  Trevor Laird’s Richard is the middle class Doctor from down South, plagued by texts from his (white) wife and the only one of the men born in Britain, while Tonderai Munyevu’s Richard is the most openly expressive, in awe of his beloved Star Trek and troubled by his estrangement from his Ghanaian father and his roots.

Each of the men are given time and space within 80 packed minutes to tell their own story and to try to understand who they are and why they feel a bond with each other. The reasons why they walk are apparently simple, but the more they travel, the more undulating and slippery the road becomes.  Each one eventually redefines the journey they have set out on, revealing a multi-faceted landscape of the soul.

A mysterious woman seen on the rocks later becomes more contemporary and Dorcas Sebuyange’s Yorkshire millennial is a direct counterpoint to the men.  She defies, teases and laughs at the Berghaus and North Face wearing revolutionaries, puncturing their cosy views about assimilation and race.  An experience in a chicken shop is more brutal than the apparent incredulity that the men face when greeting other walkers on the Peaks.

An atmospheric set featuring a slanting hillside with mildewed millstones is well used and is capable of being transformed when direct soliloquies are set amid the swirling mist.  For once dry ice has its right place on the stage.  Direction by Dawn Milton is clear and although the work takes a lot on it mostly succeeds in dismantling myths and stereotypes to reveal and then embrace the complexity around diversity and black identity in modern Britain.

The ending is brought together a little too neatly, but given the scope of the issues it needs a longer play than this to do them justice.  The writing triumphs and the performances are powerful.  These men walk to assert themselves.  Take the journey and see for yourself.    ★★★★☆    Bryan Mason    10^th March 2018