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J'Ouvert, Harold Pinter Theatre London
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JUST hours after the 2019 election results were announced, Michael Gove made a vitriolic boast that “both the Durham Miners’ Gala and the Notting Hill Carnival will take place in seats held by Conservative MPs.” That remark reflects the contempt that the Tories have for these two unique festivals of resistance and their deep-rooted political significance.
A telling riposte is Yasmin Joseph’s J’Ouvert and its breakneck excursion around Carnival and boy, does it do it well.
We’re led around the sweaty Notting Hill streets by twenty-something best friends and life-long Carnival goers Jade (Sapphire Joy) and Nadine (Gabrielle Brooks). Looking resplendent in carnival costume and “worshipping at the altar of soca music” they run the full gamut of all the highs and lows a Carnival Monday has to offer.
Finding their usual food stall has upped its prices and changed its offering to fit a new “demographic” is just one sign that this world they have grown up in isn’t what it once was.
Initially, Nisha (Annice Boparai) who’s been studying Time Out for the top Carnival picks, appears as the physical embodiment of this trend. But when she gets on the wrong side of Nadine it becomes apparent that she’s more than your average Carnival culture vulture.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the looming threat of predatory men which plagues the day and when the gutsy Jade takes matters into her own hands it takes an intervention from the ancestors to escape danger.
Paying homage to the history and creators of carnival is what this show is all about and its originators like Claudia Jones and Russ Henderson are referenced throughout. But it’s not just past references, the memory of the Grenfell Tower victims is truly devastating. What J’Ouvert lacks in storyline it more than makes up for with pure heart and soul.
Rebekah Murrell’s fleet-footed direction makes an effortless transition from pub theatre (Battersea’s 503) to West End stage, while all three actors bring pitch-perfect vitality to every scene.
The crushing news that there will be no Carnival for the second year running makes this show all the more pertinent. While it’s no substitute for the real thing, it’s a heartfelt reminder that at its core Europe’s biggest street festival is an act of resistance.
Runs until July 3, box office: haroldpintertheatre.co.uk
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