Tayo
Aluko and Friends at the Tristan Bates Theatre, the Actors Centre
Paul
Robeson
loved
London.
He
first
played
Othello
at
the
Savoy
in
1930
[then
something
of
a
novelty
– 35
years
later
Olivier
was
still
blacking
up
for
the
Moor].
Now,
fresh
from
the
Labour
Party
Conference
fringe
in
Brighton,
he's
back
in
the
heart
of
theatreland,
in
a
compelling
monodrama
written
and
performed
by
Tayo
Aluko,
as
part
of
an
extensive
UK
tour.
"Call
Mr
Robeson;
A
Life
with
Songs"
begins
with
78rpm
crackle
as
Aluko
makes
his
imposing
entrance,
singing
Nobody
Knows
The
Trouble
I
Seen.
It
ends
with
more
crackle,
this
time
for
Goin'
Home
as
the
ageing
Robeson
leaves
us
with
a
quotation
from
the
Shakespeare
– "Speak
of
me
as
I
am
…"
The
emphasis
is
very
much
on
Robeson
the
man
– a
fighter,
a
socialist,
fiercely
proud
of
his
African
roots,
his
preacher
father
born
in
slavery.
No
false
modesty
about
his
successes,
either,
academic,
sporting,
and
artistic.
Aluko
is
no
Willard
White,
but
has
a
pleasant
baritone
voice,
which
makes
a
powerful
impact
in
this
intimate
space.
He
is
a
genial
host,
charmingly
explaining
away
his
"very
good
friends",
honest
about
the
women
he
loved.
But
the
narrative
is
tellingly
punctuated
by
moments
of
raw,
uncontrollable
emotion:
the
death
of
his
mother
in
a
fire
when
he
was
just
six
years
old,
his
brutal
initiation
into
the
racist
world
of
college
football.
Phil
Newman's
ingenious
setting
reflects
the
diversity
of
the
singer's
influences
and
experiences.
In
the
middle
of
the
floor,
a
huge
label
from
the
original
disc
of
Goin'
Home.
And
all
around,
little
piles
of
memorabilia
– framed
photographs,
books,
letters
– each
grouped
round
a
flag.
It's
good
to
be
reminded
of
his
lifelong
love
of
Soviet
Russia,
his
views
on
the
Spanish
Civil
War,
his
happiest
days
staying
in
Wales
as
a
guest
of
the
miners.
And
of
his
radical,
outspoken
attacks
on
the
injustices
in
US
society.
We
relive
some
of
his
key
speeches
– he
was
a
noted
orator
at
Rutgers
– in
the
Royal
Albert
Hall,
in
Kansas,
and
before
the
notorious
Un-American
Activities
Committee.
In
one
of
the
most
dramatic
moments,
he
sings
Ol'
Man
River
[written
especially
for
him]
to
a
union
rally
as
rioters
surround
the
grounds
and
a
police
helicopter
circles
deafeningly
overhead.
This
kind
of
unrelenting
pressure,
and
nine
years
house
arrest,
fuel
Robeson's
paranoia,
leading
to
a
suicide
attempt
in
a
Moscow
bathroom,
which
is
movingly
but
unsensationally
staged.
As
an
old
man,
he
begins
to
realise
that
his
work,
and
his
struggle,
are
increasingly
marginalised,
his
name
all
but
forgotten.
It
is
this
neglect,
of
the
civil
rights
legacy
as
well
as
the
artistic
achievement,
which
this
unique
theatre
piece
seeks
to
address.
Call
Mr
Robeson
is
directed
by
Olusola
Oyeleye,
with
Michael
Conliffe
at
the
piano
deputising
for
Paul's
longtime
collaborator
Lawrence
[Larry]
Brown.
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