Black Is The Color Of My Voice
28 March 2022
The Rep
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Black is the color of my voice is inspired by the life of Nina Simone, renowned jazz singer and activist. The show is rather intimate and quite emotional, being a one-woman show set in a solitary bedroom.
With little stage dressing, the small bedroom looks very modest, with just a bed, desk, chair, and suitcase to be seen. Florence Odumosu plays the activist reflecting on her life after having felt the presence of her late father at a performance. She takes some time to lock herself away and speak to a photo of her father, narrating through her life from early childhood as a piano prodigy, through bad decisions made in her youth, all the way to how she got to the room she is in now.
Impassioned and emotional, the monologue is interspersed with music, filling the room with Odumosu’s rich voice. She runs through an astounding emotional repertoire while retelling a life lived with love, passion, and big ideas valued over personal needs.
This show is very intimate and touching, an absolutely beautiful experience beginning to end.