Through The Mud – Summerhall Main Hall

Opening to screened news footage of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a mixed race student (Tinashe Warikandwa) is moved to join the protests and become a fierce advocate in the Black Lives Matter movement. 

42 years earlier Assata Shakur, as a member of the Black Panther Party is violently involved with the civil rights movement, leading to a conviction for the killing of a State Trooper on the New Jersey Turnpike.  Shakur (played by Apphia Campbell) later escaped prison and fled to Cuba, where she still lives and remains on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.  The two women share the stage with Shakur as a sort of ghost mentor, reliving her own fight, as the student becomes ever more embroiled in the 2014 escalating violence, following one of the main protagonists.

There is a lot of fierce energy on the stage, with the live story telling being interspersed with projected footage of the time and singing from the two actors.  A mix of blues, gospel and folk is most effectively rendered by Campbell’s mature, rich voice, beautifully complemented by Warikandwa’s lighter melodic tones.  When the two harmonise, the result is electrifyingly rousing.  Although there is little direct on-stage duologue between them, representing as they do, two different time frames, the connection between the two women is so tight and the communication so strong, it all looks relaxed, natural, and deceptively easy.  With expert timing and perfect pacing this 70-minute show had me gripped throughout, so much so that I forgot the noise of the huge air conditioners and the pain in my knees from being wedged into a seat with so little leg space.

Written by Apphia Campbell and directed by Caitlin Skinner, Through the Mud is a production in association with the Royal Lyceum Theatre and Stella Quines, and that quality of background shines through.  Emma Jones’s lighting design achieves just the right atmospheric touch, but it is Campbell’s and Warikandwa’s never flagging passion and empathy that make this show such a wonderful event.

Standing on the oak bannistered staircase of the old veterinary school at Summerhall while waiting for the house to open, strangers took part in the familiar conversations frequently heard during Edinburgh Fringe.  “What have you seen?”  “Was it any good?”  “What can you recommend?”   That’s the way it works, and judging by the capacity audience, word is already out that this show is one that’s on many people’s recommended list.  It’s on mine, so go and see it while you can still get a ticket.

Reviewer: H.S.Baker

Reviewed: 8th August 2024

North West End UK Rating: