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

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Traplord at 180 Studios

Traplord at 180 Studios | Theatre review
2 April 2022
Selina Begum
Avatar
Selina Begum
2 April 2022

Located in the heart of Strand, and a short walk from Somerset House, 180 Studios provides creatives the space to develop their art, whilst also functioning as a meeting point for visitors.

Traplord explores Black identity and toxic masculinity using visual graphics, spoken word and dance, brought to life by director and choreographer Ivan Michael Blackstock and produced by Sadler’s Wells. The vision was initiated so that “young Black men could tell their authentic truth”. The concept is strong, and the performance visceral and un-filtered.

Though the show begins with overly loud indecipherable rap vocals while audience members are still chatting, Traplord picks up and remains strong for the duration. Each part is presented through non-linear accounts, though all are threaded together by themes of toxic masculinity, violence, hope and redemption. The eerie and always surreal world of David Lynch is evoked when purple light drifts across the stage while an oval mirror is held up to one of the dancers. This object is almost another character in Traplord; we are always looking at ourselves and often seeing our limitations, attempting to understand how society perceives us. Statements and questions are thrown at the audience: to be Black or not to be Black, a play on the existential Shakespearean line.

All the dancers are in blackface and dark clothing, which further propels the ideas. Synchronised fight scenes expose gang warfare and the challenges of escaping violence, while one dancer with a horrifying pig mask chases an individual with a rabbit disguise. The dance sequences are brilliantly devised and music comes courtesy of creatives including Michael “Mikey” J’Asante, BRNSBRGHT, CREATXR, Denzel Himself and Torban Sylvest, amongst others. Video design by Luke Swaffield is evocative of popular games SimCity and Grand Theft Auto; the latter corresponds with a vivid crash scene, where separate pieces of a car are held by the dancers, coming apart gradually. Simisola Majekodunmi’s lighting creatively underscores and subsumes the artists; one minute bathed in white light, the next moment, strobing stuns the stage. A standout segment sees Kanah Flex contort into the most impossible positions, a shape-shifting genius, while another performer’s emotionally rendered monologue stays with you well past the final scenes, exploring “the shadow of an absent father”.

Traplord is abstract, but that doesn’t take away from its message and compelling delivery. It is a show to be felt and experienced. Although the last act is a little on the nose, the lasting impression is permanent and thought-provoking.

★★★★★

Selina Begum
Photo: Camilla Greenwell

Traplord is at 180 Studios, 180 The Strand Temple London WC2R 1EA, from 26th March until 16th April 2022. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Traplord here:

Related Items180 StudiosdanceIvan Michael BlackstockreviewSadler's WellTraplord

More in Theatre

The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Natallia Pearmain
Read More

Dirty Dancing the Movie in concert at Apollo Theatre

★★★★★
Jim Compton-Hall
Read More

My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

“When you’re presented with different dilemmas in life, you respond accordingly”: Debbie Kurup on The Cher Show

Mae Trumata
Read More

2:22 A Ghost Story at Criterion Theatre

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

The House of Shades at Almeida Theatre

★★★★★
Csilla Tornallyay
Read More

Grease at Dominion Theatre

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

House of Ife at Bush Theatre

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

Banter Jar at Lion & Unicorn Theatre: “An authentic and timely one-woman show”

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Selina Begum

Traplord at 180 Studios Strand

★★★★★

Dates

26th March - 16th April 2022

Price

From £25

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Father and the Assassin at the National Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Plan 75
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • More than Ever (Plus que Jamais)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Warpaint at the Roundhouse
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Tori and Lokita
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Moonage Daydream
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Stephen Fry enters the Radio Times Hall of Fame in conversation with Alan Yentob at the BFI Imax
    Cinema & Tv
  • Layering masters: How to make authentically delicious lasagne
    Food & Drinks
  • The Five Devils (Les Cinq Diables)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Moonage Daydream
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Crimes of the Future
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Boy from Heaven (Walad Min Al Janna)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • The Princess of Shoreditch in Shoreditch: “Ruth Hansom will only cook with the freshest and finest”
    Food & Drinks
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Madrid Fusión celebrates 20th anniversary with record-breaking edition
“We promised to use local produce but it was too cold. So I stepped into the wilderness to find flavours”: René Redzepi in conversation with Andoni Aduriz on the origins of Noma and the future of gastronomy