Partly inspired by a Leeds’ barber, Inua Ellams’ new play, Barber Shop Chronicles comes from The National Theatre to the Playhouse where LEO OWEN caught the show

TEEMING with life, Director Bijan Sheibani’s exuberant production begins as a kind of theatre-in-the-round with the audience surrounding a square stage and some even part of the action, having a quick trim or dance with cast members.

Weaving together various conversations across two continents on an unspecified date in April 2012 when Chelsea beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, the play cross-cuts between five African barber shops (Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos and Accra) and one in London. These barber shops are more than simply a place to have a cut but, like a local pub, a place of refuge and solace; a friendly hangout to charge your phone and somewhere to chat to role models and father figures.

Ellams uses international snapshots of different cultures to draw parallels and challenge the male black stereotype through both broken and bonded communities/families. The audience’s fly-on-the-wall experience of both exchanges between customers and barbers and visiting family/friends explores a wide variety of political, social and global issues. From tackling gender divides, generational tensions, masculinity, language decay, abuse, racism, poverty, sexism and alcoholism, Ellams isn’t afraid of divisive subjects.

The most touching segment comes from one of the play’s main plot threads: the story of young London barber, Samuel (Fisayo Akinade), discovering the truth about his father’s imprisonment. Another emotionally-charged exchange is between a Johannesburg resident ranting to his barber that Mandela failed his people and those responsible for apartheid were never brought to justice.

Some of these political conversations feel a tad shoe-horned while others are cleverly touched upon through light humour and semantic banter, such as confusions over race and culture; similarities between the holocaust and slavery and cultural differences between white and black women. In this banter, shocking ignorance is apparent with talk of slapping “the autism out of” someone and homophobia affecting trade in Uganda. Despite differences of opinion, a love of football unites all, alongside feelings of displacement and visible signs of poverty with work schedules dictated by generators and barbers sleeping on shop floors.

Sheibani skilfully controls his sprawling cast with actors sitting around the edge, quickly jumping into the action to play multiple roles. It, however, takes time to distinguish individual characters or relationships and for them to gain depth. Nevertheless, Sheibani affectionately writes in endearing character details, such as the opening sequence including a young man requesting an aerodynamic haircut to prepare him for a driving job interview.

Rae Smith’s simple but effective design symbolises location shifts by the illumination of different business shop signs and slogans hanging from the balcony railings. This is accompanied by a lit-up wire globe revolving above the stage and wheeling furniture for seamless transitions. Aline David’s movement direction nicely complements this as the barbers perform slick dance sequences in culturally stylised interludes to link segments.

Although certainly not without fault, Barber Shop Chronicles is insightful and despite its rather bleak conclusion, is full of energy, rhythm and heart.

Barber Shop Chronicles shows in the Courtyard Theatre July 13-29: https://www.wyp.org.uk/events/barber-shop-chronicles/