THERE is something excruciatingly brilliant about Ryan Calais Cameron's Retrograde.
The one-act three-hander has just transferred to West End, where the Apollo Theatre makes a perfect new home for the show which began its life at Kilburn’s Kiln Theatre.
Here is a play that truly deserves its new-found West End standing, under the continued direction of the Kiln’s Amit Sharma.
Stanley Townsend is perfectly cast as the self-serving lawyer Mr ParksThe writing, by young actor and playwright Calais Cameron, is superb, and perfectly pitched for the world in which he immerses the audience.
We are in New York in 1955, and the setting is a lawyer’s office.
This lawyer, Mr Parks, played quite brilliantly by Dubliner Stanley Townsend, is getting contracts signed for a new film.
It will make a young Sidney Poitier – played breathtakingly powerfully by Ivanno Jeremiah - a global star.
It will be good for his long-term friend Bobby, the script writer, too, but it is, supposedly, Poitier’s big break.
Oliver Johnstone has perfect comic timing and moral dilemmas of his own as BobbyHowever, it comes with some pretty awful ultimatums for the young black actor, which don’t exist for Bobby, and the reality of what is really going on in this room soon becomes apparent.
There is so much at play and at stake here, with the issues arising – basically full-frontal Hollywood racism spewed out through the self-serving Mr Parks - set against the backdrop of America’s civil rights movement and the rise of McCarthyism at that time.
It makes for uncomfortable viewing at points, but it is entirely mesmerising too as you simply can’t take your eyes off the injustice being wreaked, the awful dealings and the underhand tactics at play.
Calais Cameron is tackling real-life topics and admits he based his play on some of Poitier’s own real-life experiences, which make it even more important that all who watch keep their eyes on the dilemmas at hand.
There are sweaty palms all around as we await the outcome of ultimatum put to both Poitier and his writer friend, but there are so many moments of great hilarity too.
Ivanno Jeremiah, as a young Sidney Poitier, is the stand out star of the show (Pics: Marc Brenner)Calais Cameron has generously salted this play with comedic one-liners that literally have the audience rocking in their seat.
When Mr Parks tells the conflicted Poitier that he will “slap him so cross-eyed” he’ll be “eating off other people’s plates” the theatre erupts in laughter.
The sentiment is awful, but the writing is sublime, and Townsend’s delivery is impeccable.
Some of the best lines are with Townsend, who is cruel, manipulative and overtly self-assured.
But it doesn’t all go Mr Parks’ way, and there is relief - and even more howls of laughter - among the audience when Bobby, played by the brilliantly cast Oliver Johnstone, tells him “your arse must be jealous of all the shit that is coming out of your mouth”.
There are laughs and drama in Ryan Calais Cameron's RetrogradeJeremiah, however, has some of the most poignant moments of the play, as he portrays Poitier grappling with the moral dilemma before him.
In one scene he addresses the racism which is being danced around head-on, telling Mr Parks “Get ready. We are coming. Expect us.”
Such strength amid the terrible predicament that has been put upon him keeps the audience invested, willing this young soon-to-be star to refuse to capitulate, to turn and walk away from this office.
It's tense, gloriously tense, and that is the beauty of what Calais Cameron, Sharma and this finely cast team of actors have produced.
This is 90 minutes of drama and hilarity that will stay with you long after you leave the theatre.
Retrograde runs at the Apollo Theatre until June 14. Click here for tickets.
