They say there’s not much that is new as a theme and Moon on a Rainbow Shawl certainly  has echoes of plays one has seen before. ‘When dreams and aspirations meet reality’ has been the grist to many a dramatist’s mill. However, that wasn’t quite the case in 1957 when the play was written and the new wave was just getting going and the often bleak, reality of working class existence was just beginning to be mined.  What additionally, even today, lifts this play out of the general run, is the originality of the authentic Trinidadian voice.

Set in one of the traditional and in this case claustrophobic and at times oppressive ‘yards’, this closely textured play is well served by sensitive direction and compelling performances from the uniformly strong cast. The result is a play which seems as fresh to us today as it must have been to those Royal Court audiences of half a century ago. The rich tapestry of emotions stretches from the sensitivity of singer to a crying baby to plaintiff anger at a deserting father.

Okezie Morro’s Ephraim is a man all too aware of the narrowness of his prospects and who has allowed himself to ‘grow tall’ in his dreams, a luxury denied to young Esther, played with open-hearted enthusiasm and frustration by Tahirah Sharif.

Attempting to hold the matriarchal centre with some kind of moral compass is Martin a Laird’s Sophia. Indeed one of the other notable things about this play, particular for its time, but again, no less noteworthy for us today, is the central role played by the female characters in the play: the sassy Mavis, played with gusto by Bethan Mary James – perhaps the only character to end the play in a better place than at the start. Then there is Alisha Bailey’s Rosa who stands as the all too familiar tragic woman deserted by the father of her unborn child.  The strength of the writing is perhaps revealed in our ambiguous attitude to the deserting Ephraim. We know he should stay by his woman, but at the same time we see why he should leave.

Equally tragic is Jude Akuwudike’s, Charlie Adams, who with his unfulfilled ambitions as a cricketer (displaying a pretty good away-swing technique) has his second chance crushed by the ill-timed petty theft which lands him in jail at the moment a career as a cricket coach opens up before him only to equally quickly fade away.

Whilst in no way a hopeful play there are moments of warmth and engaging atmosphere which help to keep us engaged. For a modern audience there is also the added irony of Ephraim’s aspiration to better himself in England – we know the less than warm welcome which awaited that first wave of modern immigration.

In all then a period piece that retains its ability to charm, disturb and entertain.  ★★★★☆  Graham Wyles