Trouble in Butetown
Donmar Theatre, London, until March 25
It’s grimly ironic that since the philistines now presiding over us chose to starve the Donmar of public funding, the theatre has been on a roll, putting on some of the best work I’ve seen on its stage since its glory days under Michael Grandage and his predecessor Sam Mendes.
Diana Nneka Atuona’s Trouble in Butetown is a wonderfully intelligent, atmospheric and compelling drama set during the second world war in a
claustrophobic boarding house not far from Cardiff Docks. It’s what was then
disapprovingly called “mixed” – which is to say it had black and white residents living under the same roof – but its owner Gwyneth (Sarah Parish)
couldn’t care less and was indeed once called a “n—– lover” for marrying a
now departed black man. Her eclectic household includes a young, hard-drinking Muslim named Dullah (Zaqi Ismail), a Caribbean boatman (Zephryn Taitte) and the ageing Patsy (Ifan Huw Dafydd) who yearns only for a quiet life.
All goes awry when Samuel Adewunmi’s American serviceman, who fled the scene of a murder, enters the household and doing what’s right tests the consciences of all the inhabitants. The performances are uniformly excellent, and, of the adults, Ismail is on great form, bringing comedy and pathos in equal measure, but Rosie Ekenna as Gwyneth’s spirited youngest daughter, is something of a phenomenon.
It isn’t really done to praise child stars – they’re only supposed to look adorable, provide moments of light relief and not bump into the furniture
– but Ekenna quite frankly dominates a great deal of the play, has an extraordinary understanding of stagecraft and delivers vast chunks of text impeccably. She is, all in all, clearly something of a Dame Judi Dench trapped in the body of a nine-year-old.
Tinuke Craig’s direction is faultless and when I say the show is atmospheric that’s down not just to her and the actors, but also Oliver Fenwick as the lighting designer and Peter McKintosh for creating such a splendidly dingy front room – complete with upright piano – that effortlessly evokes the mood of those hard and unhappy times.
