Through the Mud – Traverse Theatre

Spanning past and present, Apphia Campbell’s Through the Mud explores racism in America during the Black Panther movement as well as Black Lives Matter. Filled with a gospel and blues soundtrack, sung live by the performers, this is a show with a strong message but some struggle of identity.

With only two actors, we follow the stories of Assata Shakur (Apphia Campbell) during the civil rights movement and Jim Crow laws while flipping back and forth to Ambrosia Rollins (Tinashe Warikandwa) a college student wrapped up in the Black Lives Matter protests in 2014. Both actors also play smaller, secondary roles in their counterparts’ stories. Initially, these changes between past and present can feel confusing, trying to keep up with what time period we are in. Accent changes are quite subtle, making the different characters sound too similar and physicality was minimal. Perhaps director Caitlin Skinner could consider ways to make these changes clearer – more noticeable acting changes and small costume changes.

There is no doubt that racism is an awful, ever-present issue in our world and it’s great that Campbell has chosen to once again bring it to the forefront of the Scottish arts landscape. However, a question may be if a story with such a strong American focus would land as strongly in a Scottish theatre? In addition, while the themes are clear, the form of this piece isn’t fully realised.

Filled with gospel and blues music, it could be fair to label this piece as ‘a play with songs’ but this could take away the impact it hopes to have – especially as some uses of songs feel unnatural. By using real stories and real-life video clips, Through the Mud also delves into the realms of biographical and verbatim theatre before switching back to Campbell’s written text. Attempts at direct address are made throughout but often fall flat, lacking connection between actor and spectator. These sporadic changes in form upset the pacing of the piece which can cause difficulty with engagement.

Through the Mud is a piece exploring such important themes and aims to create a discussion on racism in our world. However, its formatic issues leave audiences wondering what Campbell was really aiming for? Was this meant to be rich in historic examples of mistreatment? Was it meant to be a lecture? Or was it just a chance to showcase some gospel music with a need to wrap a story around it? There is most definitely potential here but perhaps more development is required to figure out what the piece actually is.

Reviewer: Dylan Mooney

Reviewed: 14th November 2025

North West End UK Rating: