Following his recent turn as Emcee in Cabaret, American actor Billy Porter has clearly developed a taste for the West End. This time, however, he’s on directing duty, as he stages a new production of Harrison David Rivers’ play This Bitter Earth at Soho Theatre.
It follows the relationship between Black playwright Jesse (Omari Douglas) and his white BLM activist boyfriend Neil (Alexander Lincoln), with fragmented snapshots of their love story playing out against the tragic backdrop of the killings of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and more Black people facing police brutality.
Porter’s jaunty personal style translates to a slick and energetic staging, weaving the non-linear narrative together carefully through simple movement, props, and lighting changes.
There are no other characters on stage, but Douglas and Lincoln bring such beautiful nuance and grounding to their roles that they easily command the space for the 90 minute straight-through runtime. Douglas possesses a captivating ability to be equal parts witty and heartbreaking in turn, while Lincoln’s Neil is a perfectly earnest foil for Jesse’s cynicism.
As Rivers script leaps between timelines and spaces, we watch the couple explore challenges great and small, from financial discomfort to what Neil deems as Jesse’s political apathy. All the while, the horrors of America’s civil unrest and injustice punctuate the tension between the pair, often raising uncomfortable questions around their existence as an interracial couple.
The sociopolitical backdrop is even more heartbreaking when you take into account that the play was commissioned back in 2015 — one year before President Trump’s first election win, and five years before the murder of George Floyd that triggered a long-awaited global movement.
The script raises tough questions and doesn’t try to give us the answers, and Porter’s direction gives these questions plenty of space to ruminate. If you know much about Billy Porter, you’ll know he’s not exactly synonymous with subtlety, and that’s not what he’s going for with This Bitter Earth. Some of Neil and Jesse’s audience interactions feel unnecessary, and a repeated reenactment of a tragic final moment between the two doesn’t quite make the emotional impact it should have. But we still get plenty of opportunities to connect with the characters in ways that do pack a punch.
This Bitter Earth is an intricate and thoughtful production that feels like a fitting directorial debut for an outspoken LGBTQ+ activist like Porter. It’s a poignant and compelling portrait of the realities of unconditional love in the face of unfathomable hardship.
Tickets are available at: https://sohotheatre.com/events/this-bitter-earth/
Reviewer: Olivia Cox
Reviewed: 24th June 2025
North West End UK Rating:
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