The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • Tumblr

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Blak Whyte Gray at the Barbican

Blak Whyte Gray at the Barbican | Dance review
13 September 2018
Selina Begum
Selina Begum
Avatar
Selina Begum
13 September 2018

Theatre review

Selina Begum

Blak Whyte Gray

★★★★★

Dates

12th September - 15th September 2018

Price

£15-£25

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsiteMap

Directors Kenrick “H2O” Sandy MBE and Michael “Mikey J” Asante return with their Olivier nominated performance Blak Whyte Gray. Co-commissioned and co-produced by the Barbican, the show is a striking mixture of music and dance. 

The first piece of the evening, Whyte, is comprised of fairly restrained motion, the dancers’ joints jerking and controlled. The trio appear silhouetted on stage in a square of light, while thumping electric music plays with interspersed jarring instrumentals. Amidst jolting movements of raised arms, heads pushing downwards, and with a simple shadowed background of woods created by lighting designer Lee Curran, the routine propels its dancers forwards, but not completely out of their containment of light. Leaving the audience with lasting impressions of silent screams and gaping mouths, the trio disappear into a fade out. 

Gray is darker in nature. A dancer on his back propels himself with his feet, followed by two females and three males. Powerful images are cast, where the ensemble hold and aim invisible shotguns, then express vulnerability, arms to throats, mouths being suffocated. Though a specific story arc isn’t noticeable, it is these push and pull actions that permeate throughout, open to interpretation. Through Sandy’s precise and bold choreography, themes of identity, repression and oppression can be perceived, as a voice exclaims, “Is everybody in the world gonna die before someone finds the answer?”

The ensemble return with Blak, arguably the highlight of the set. A dancer repeatedly collapses as the group attempt to keep him balanced; the music has stopped, leaving the sound of panting. After the lead is draped in a long red cloth, he becomes strong and independent, dancing unaccompanied, combining graceful ballet with contemporary dance sequences. The dancers return, painting red on his face and chest, the music playing again with renewed energy as the group assemble together, this time all with paint marked on their faces – ultraviolet light stunningly revealing bold colours on the large tribal masks and the performers.

Thanks to original music by Asante, the piece truly comes alive in the final third, with Yeeeleh – a buoyant, highly danceable song – perfectly accompanying the hip-hop dance sequences. The composer’s original score and Sandy’s choreography are an unbeatable match, with pieces that reflect the complexities of our times; whether it’s identity crises, refugee displacement or gang violence, it is performances like these which bring a little light to the world. 

★★★★★

Selina Begum
Photo: Carl Fox

Blak Whyte Gray is at the Barbican from 12th September until 15th September 2018. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Blak Whyte Gray here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Theatre

The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Brooke Snowe
Read More

“Sting always makes me want to choreograph”: An interview with ZooNation director Kate Prince

Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

A Kind of People at the Royal Court Theatre

★★★★★
Connor Campbell
Read More

Thriller Live at Lyric Theatre

★★★★★
Sophia Moss
Read More

The Snow Queen at Park Theatre

★★★★★
Ghazaleh Golpira
Read More

Three Sisters at the National Theatre

Michael Higgs
Read More

The Duchess of Malfi at Almeida Theatre

★★★★★
Connor Campbell
Read More

A Taste of Honey at Trafalgar Studios

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More

Christmas Carol: A Fairy Tale at Wilton’s Music Hall

★★★★★
Grace Walsh
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Selina Begum

Blak Whyte Gray

★★★★★

Dates

12th September - 15th September 2018

Price

£15-£25

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsiteMap

Tickets

Theatre tickets

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Secret Cinema Presents Stranger Things: An uncanny, immersive delight
    Cinema
  • Three Sisters at the National Theatre
    Theatre
  • Five of the best Christmas afternoon teas in London
    Food & Drinks
  • IT London in Mayfair: Authentic and refined Italian dishes in a swanky restaurant
    ★★★★★
    Food & Drinks
  • The Duchess of Malfi at Almeida Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “Sting always makes me want to choreograph”: An interview with ZooNation director Kate Prince
    Theatre
  • A Kind of People at the Royal Court Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • IT London in Mayfair: Authentic and refined Italian dishes in a swanky restaurant
    ★★★★★
    Food & Drinks
  • Thriller Live at Lyric Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • IT London in Mayfair: Authentic and refined Italian dishes in a swanky restaurant
    ★★★★★
    Food & Drinks
  • The Snow Queen at Park Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Three Sisters at the National Theatre
    Theatre
  • A Taste of Honey at Trafalgar Studios
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2018 FL Media Ltd

Marathon: An interview with the winners of the 2018 Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award
10×10 Q&A: Director Suzi Ewing and producer Jason Maza discuss their triumph over the international box office and “the biggest blizzard you’ve ever seen”