Coleridge -Taylor of Freetown – C Arts

Taylor Aluko, a former Liverpool architect, is originally from Nigeria. He is an intelligent, politically and socially conscious individual. He also has a good voice.

His morning show at The Quaker House, Coleridge-Taylor of Freetown, is a bid to bring to the light the recent history of Sierra Leone’s oppressive regime. He depicts the former cowardly diplomat, George Coleridge-Taylor, whose uncle was the renowned early twentieth century composer who lived in Croydon, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. In so doing, he uses some of the latter’s music, played live by Kristin Wong and he sings powerfully to the room.

The pianist is part of the staging and therefore part of the visual landscape which tells the story. Because of the technical requirements of reading music, Wong’s intense concentration results in an onstage dissonance in the emotional fabric of the storyline. She is cognitively not on the same page as Aluko and I found this jarring from a storytelling perspective.

This show is unquestionably worthy, yet I, personally, would have preferred a simpler staging. This one-man drama jumped about too much and was reliant on sound effects and invisible companions to the detriment of creating any tangible sense of empathy from this viewer.

I can only applaud Aluko’s intentions to use art as a weapon to defend the oppressed and point out that he came into his own in the follow-up Q&A, where he explained his research into the main character and the history in his own voice which was truly engaging.

If he had told the story as a simple narration with more clarity on why he had chosen particular poems and songs, indicating their connections and relevance, I would have enjoyed it more.

There is scope for this subject and, indeed, Aluko has won awards at festivals in the UK and Canada for his first play, Call Mr Robeson.

Aluko is an advocate of conveying truth, justice and peace through art. A reworking of this piece would improve its impact for me. Others may disagree.

Reviewer: Kathleen Mansfield

Reviewed: 12th August 2024

North West End UK Rating: