G
03 September 2024
Royal Court Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
G, currently running at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, is a brand new coming-of-age story focussing on Black youth in the UK. Wrapped in an urban myth, the story explores the social pressures on young people with wit, rhythm, and an injection of humour.
Baitface the Gullyman is an urban myth figure who steals the faces of Black Boys if they walk under a pair of trainers thrown over a telephone wire, unless they wear a balaclava to protect themselves. Classmates Khaleem, Joy, and Kai come too close to Baitface when they are not fully in control of themselves, spiralling them into weeks of fear and panic.
The stage is simply held in black with a cavity in the middle, right under a pair of brightly glowing trainers. The three protagonists are dressed in dark school uniforms, while the looming figure of Baitface slinks and crawls around them menacingly, dressed all in white.
One intensely emotional night, the three are not fully in control of their minds, two of them after trying their hands at recreational drugs, one after a traumatic emotional experience. They are accused of being perpetrators of a crime, caught on CCTV, but due to their lack of memory and plagued by nightmares, they need to figure out what actually happened and who is really to blame. Woven into this is the story of Baitface, and how the myth came to be.
The performance is intense, with highly physical choreography, video projections flickering across the stage, time-jumps from before and several weeks after the supposed crime. The language is casual and very slice-of-life in a circle of friends, the young boys struggling with finding their identity and place in the world, repressing their emotions rather than sharing with each other. Fear turns to in-fighting, high tensions bringing all three to breaking point.
G is a beautifully profound story, filled with dark humour, social commentary, and lessons on emotional healing and connection. A gorgeous new play not to be missed!
