REVIEW: Cheeky Little Brown, The Weston Studio, Bristol Old Vic – ‘A vibrant, energising coming-of-age anti-romcom’’

Cheeky Little Brown is an infectiously energetic, funny and vibrant one-woman “anti-romcom”, described by its writer, the Papatango Prize-winning playwright Nkenna Akunna, as a “post-mortem of a friendship-turned-first love”.

It charts the divergence of Lady (played by Tiajna Amayo) and Gemma. Inseparable “sister-friends” since the age of five, they find themselves coming back into one another’s orbit after six months apart.

Through the unfolding chapters of a failed night out in London – from Gemma’s 25th birthday party, to the kebab shop, the night bus, and finally back to Lady’s flat – the seismic event that has shifted their bond begins to unravel itself.

Although there is stacks of humour throughout – from shouting at a pigeon, to serenading a kebab – Kunna’s writing is shot through with the pathos of its central character coming of age as a young, Black queer woman in a world that suddenly seems unfamilar to her.

Clinging tightly to her roots, Lady is desperate “to see her (Gemma) see me in only the way she can”, because “what’s understood don’t have to be explained”; blind to the emotional chasm that has opened up between them.

Against the warm and shimmering backdrop of Aldo Vazquez’s multi-functional design, the shifting sands of identity, connection, divergence and reinvention – so characteristic of youth, are treated with a wondrous lightness of touch, not least in the characterisation of Gemma’s new, posh, smiling (and loathsome) friend, Jessie.

As Lady, Amayo is utterly electric, fizzing with unbridled emotion; from the joyful nostalgia of her childhood, “the sounds wafting over the smells”, to the jealousy and anger over being confronted by Gemma’s new friends, and the occasional wry flicker of self-knowledge, admitting “I am over-reacting”.

Original songs, brilliantly performed, are woven through the show, mapping the night’s slow descent from anticipation, exhilaration and bravado into drunkenness, anger and regret, with, it must be said, some hugely enjoyable ‘drunk’ acting.

As Lady sees herself harshly reflected in the unforgiving window of the N21 night bus to Newington Green, we have a literal sense of a young woman holding a mirror, up to herself – who she was, and who she is now.

And in the full clarity of the morning, although doggedly resistant to change, she finds herself at a crossroads at which she must, nevertheless choose the path of self-acceptance, however messy the twists and turns along the way. Akunna’s love letter is in fact, in the end, to self-acceptance – in all its own, imperfect glory.

As artistic director of Bristol Old Vic, Nancy Medina has set out her vision to diversify audiences, giving space to new writing, and allowing word-of-mouth to build momentum. That’s clearly working here.

It’s impressive to see a bold and accessible show like Cheeky Little Brown getting a three week run, and points to an exciting direction of travel for The Weston Studio.

Cheeky Little Brown is at the Weston Studio, Bristol Old Vic on September 21-October 14 at 8pm (no shows on Sunday), and then touring throughout October. Tickets are available at www.bristololdvic.org.uk.

All photos: Craig Fuller

Read more: Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio welcomes ‘Cheeky Little Brown’

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