The Lonely Londoners
Kiln Theatre, London

THE play, The Lonely Londoners, sees playwright Roy Williams and director Ebenezer Bamgboye join forces to adapt Sam Selvon’s exquisite classic novel of the 1950s and land it in fabulous form on the Kiln stage. 

You’d think it would be impossible to capture a book of such literary and geographical precision in one confined space. The Kiln team, however, not only fulfil the dream but create an exemplary piece of theatre.  

The setting is familiar: London in the 1950s with the Windrush generation flowing in. Trinidadian Moses, now living in London, fulfils an accidentally acquired role: that of meeting new arrivals from the Caribbean and helping them navigate the big bad city.

Inevitably the euphoric hopes of the newcomers, fed by the careless promises of an imperial Britain, are painfully dashed in the face of racism, hostility, indifference and contempt. And once again we in the audience face the same abiding shame of this contemptible historic betrayal.

The story here, though, is not one of simple blame, even though the men in question are forced into disadvantage largely because of the colour of their skin. Rather, it is a profound study of this oppressed group as they struggle to survive and prosper.

Whether it is through the small white child exclaiming in unschooled astonishment: “Look! It’s a black man!” or whether through the vast, miserable, foggy environs of a London that reeks of a living power, these men from Trinidad, sustained by their own memories and dreams, build resistance, exert a formidable life force and unknowingly evolve before our eyes into victors of a kind.  

Visually, the only concession to a London filled with famous streets and iconic buildings is a hugely atmospheric display of lights grouped in squares on three walls. Tony Gayle’s almost ceaseless soundtrack speaks volumes in its energising power, embracing both Trinidadian origins and the wild side of London, as elements of the Beatles and Blur rise and fall in the inspirational mix. Aimee Powell as Christina, the girl Moses left behind, sings with seductive purity and Nevena Stojkov’s choreography brings us dance to shake our emotions more powerfully than words. 

It’s a brilliant artistic achievement: all beautifully judged and endlessly invigorating. Nothing is fabricated; nothing cliched. All is unquestionably real and all displays the minute detail and comic idiosyncrasy of human life pitched against the unstoppable forces of a greater, uncaring world.

As Moses, Solomon Israel expertly creates a still, sad centrepiece, while Tobi Bakare, Gilbert Kyem Jnr and Romario Simpson bring unfettered emotional performances as the lonely Trinidadians hoping for gold. Together, they give us not only the immigrant dilemma but the complex inner workings of the black man’s world.

In this it’s a compassionate piece and though their women (played by Powell, Shannon Hayes and Carol Moses) are forced into more stereotypical roles, this is only because they represent captured fragments of the men’s hearts.

Altogether, a fine-tuned cast with towering emotional energy and glorious moments of humour. 

Totally absorbing theatre… with clout.

Runs until February 22. Box office: (020) 7328-1000, kilntheatre.com.