Last Friday marked my having occupied a rather large space on this planet for three-quarters of a century, so I had a fish butty for dinner. I know how to party! I wasn’t the prettiest looking baby, in fact, the midwife picked me up by my arms and slapped my face. I had arranged to review this show on the following Tuesday, so the one-man celebration was held then. Now this was a party.
RUSH was written and performed by Rush Theatre Company, in the form a lecture with musical illustrations. It sounds a bit dry but I was impressed by a couple of things. The first was the singing, dancing and playing, all of which were superb, but what really got me was the way in which the history of the people and music of the Caribbean was presented. This would have been a great platform to espouse a biased political diatribe but, although the less savoury incidents in the past were handled head-on, I found it to be a factual, honest, detached account of how we, as a multiracial country, have got to where we are now.
I will get the negative out of the way first and say that, as this is a touring show with no association with Leeds Playhouse, other than the provision of the venue and facilities, the person handling the merchandise stand outside Quarry 2 was doing the company no favours at all. The premise was that we were on The Good Ship Rush from Jamaica to England, the show being put on by the ship’s company. As such, we were supposed to have been issued with a boarding pass, the significance of which would become clear later. The entrance in question was partly obstructed by a group of ladies who were being chatted to by Merch Man who was taking an intense interest in them and handing out what looked like leaflets whilst engaging them in conversation, meaning that another chap and I, had to squeeze our way past them, totally ignored. It turns out that the leaflets were the boarding passes. In addition, again as this was not a Leeds Playhouse production, there was no programme issued to use when writing this article, so, during the interval I went back to the stall to ask as to whether there was a cast list available. Once again, the custodian of the merch was in full chat up mode with a trio of women, one of whom was celebrating her birthday and so in a euphoric mood. I waited for two or three minutes before interrupting the action as, even though I was the only other person there, I had not even been acknowledged, by asking if there was a cast list to which he replied that there wasn’t and returned to his ‘customer service’. I asked if there was anything on the website as I was reviewing the show, he thanked me for doing so and said that there probably would be and confirmed that it was a full-scale tour. I wonder if he will still be as grateful after my publishing his job appraisal for the world to see. Don’t get me wrong, there was a touch of envy in my heart, and I would have prioritised the members of the distaff side of the population over some old bloke on his own, but I like to think I would have been a bit more professional in my approach. Besides, had it been me, I would have dealt with the geriatric first to get rid of him and let me concentrate on the important matters in hand – all three of them! I decided not to buy a programme and took my seat for the second half. I did, however, help myself to a boarding pass from the table. They were free by the way, I wasn’t indulging in the current state-endorsed practice of shoplifting. On looking round the auditorium I would have thought that the company could have done with a bit more of a sales push to swell the coffers, as it was scandalously poorly attended. The website has proved to be of no assistance whatsoever, so the performers will have to remain anonymous.
The show opened with a short animated film depicting Three Little Birds, singing the Bob Marley song of the same name, with the words changed to ‘Hey England, here we come, every little thing’s gonna be alright.’ The ship’s navigator, an absolutely hilarious young woman, came to the lectern and began her history of the islands by saying that they had been inhabited since 600BC but not discovered until 1494 when Columbus arrived. He was looking for a passage to India by travelling west, and when he hit Hispaniola he thought he had succeeded until he realised his mistake, but decided to call the place the West Indies to save face. He travelled round the islands, which had lots of natural resources, went back to Europe and Spain claimed them as their own. They settled there and exported lots of African slaves to the area who took with them, not only their labour but imported diseases and the indigenous people, having no immunity, were wiped out. The Spanish were not popular so we Brits were asked to kick them out and take over.
The main plank, however, was the voyage of HMT Empire Windrush which set sail in 1948 on a return journey from Trinidad to Southampton, calling at Jamaica, Mexico, Cuba and Bermuda. The British Nationality Bill had been passed earlier that year granting UK citizenship to all those born in the UK and its Colonies, thus giving them a right to settle here. Because of the shortage of labour after of the carnage of the Second World War, adverts were placed in newspapers in the Caribbean countries to attract men to come to find work. 802 people arrived on the ship, which, to put it in perspective, was 80 fewer than crossed the English Channel on boats on 18th June this year.
The relationship between residents and immigrants was related and, despite a couple of riots over the years, we seem to have got on pretty well considering.
I particularly liked the way that the difference between race relations here and those in the Americas were highlighted. There was a slide shown of a map of Africa with the legend saying that the West did not import slaves from Africa, it imported free men and made them slaves. The Afro-Caribbeans in the UK came out of choice ‘leaving paradise, heading for hope.’ OK, it is not that simple, nothing ever is, but this was mainly about the music and that was provided by JA Reggae Band and singers introduced as Letitia and Ika, I hope that I got that right. The conductor of the band, presumably JA, took to the stage with his suitcase which he opened to reveal the contents which he had packed to see him through the voyage; his baton, a bar of soap and a pair of boxer shorts made form the Jamaican flag. ‘A pair to wear and a pair of spare’.
Normally with musicals containing songs that everyone knows, the audience participation is confined to the last song and the encore, but tonight we were on our feet singing and dancing from shortly after the beginning.
The music was more or less in chronological order and covered the styles from calypso, through 60s pop with My Boy Lollipop, There was a limbo competition with unsuspecting audience members and a selection of 70s tunes with more Bob Marley, Bob and Marcia and Toots and the Maytals. The 1980s Two Tone period was represented by Ghost Town and One Step Beyond to name but a few.
To depict the importance of religion in the settlers’ lives, a mock Pentecostal service was conducted in front of a large neon cross which had been lowered from the flies. After a rendition from the audience of O Happy Day, I was ready to testify and throw myself at the feet of the reverend! Not really, but it was uplifting.
More singing and dancing to Lovers Rock, with two audience members given seats at the bar on the stage, and it was the big finish.
The whole evening was a deep joy to be a part of and sent me home a happier man than when I arrived. And that is how it should be. I decided to celebrate by having an appropriate treat when I got home and remembered I had a doughnut in the cupboard. It was a Bob Marley version – wi’ jam in!
By the way, we were instructed to keep the boarding pass in a safe place so that if we were ever threatened with deportation for not being able to prove we arrived legally, as some travellers on the Windrush were, in what was a disgraceful episode a few years ago, we were covered.
RUSH has left the building insofar as Leeds Playhouse is concerned but the tour goes on until 2nd October so please click on https://rushtheatrecompany.co.uk/tours/#rush for dates and bookings.
I can’t help wondering if the merch man pulled though.
Images provided by Leeds Playhouse. Boarding pass photo by Stan Graham
Tyke It To The Limit 