Theatre / Reviews
Review: 50 Voices for Malcolm X, BOV
50 Voices For Malcolm X provided a unique platform for an array of individuals and groups to share their thoughts on civil rights and social change through various art forms. Over three nights at Bristol Old Vic, Bristolians showcased 50 five-minute segments to celebrate the civil rights movement and to mark 50 years since the assassination of the civil rights leader.
The production marked the first collaboration between the theatre and community station Ujima Radio, with the station’s Julz Davis and Roger Griffith introducing the event on Saturday, its final evening.
Individuals performed their segments against the backdrop of 7 Saints of St Paul’s, a series of portraits of black Bristolian icons hung on the walls. The artworks – created by local artist Michele Curtis – featured the faces of Roy Hackett, who helped start St Paul’s Carnival, civil rights campaigner and Bristol Bus Boycott leader Paul Stephenson OBE, and others who have helped to improve race relations in the city.
is needed now More than ever
50 Voices opened and closed with readings from Malcolm X’s 1964 speech The Ballot or The Bullet, between which different individuals shared their experiences and thoughts with the audience in a relaxed, inclusive space.
Some participants chose poetry as their platform: author and social activist Cheryl Morgan read a poem about her experience as a transsexual woman. She spoke about how change has come, but emphasised that there are still too many transsexual people dying because of their treatment by society. Morgan left the audience with the message that being less gender-obsessed would be good for us all.
Many other performers explored issues of race and identity. Dr Shawn-Naphtali Sobers, for example, spoke about the importance of names, revealing how his own surname was that of the slave trading family who had owned his ancestors in Barbados – but how the success of the West Indian cricketer Garfield Sobers had since linked the name with greatness. Dr Sobers delved into how Malcolm X’s name changed along with his spiritual journey, from Malcolm Little, to Malcolm X, to Malik el-Shabazz.
Interspersed with these poetry and spoken-word segments were song, film and dance. There was krump dancing, and even music from a singing chef, who gave a soulful performance of Otis Redding’s A Change Is Gonna Come.
As the audience left to the strains of Redding’s classic, you couldn’t help feel that some good change has happened –but that there’s still a lot more to come.
50 Voices for Malcolm X was at Bristol Old Vic Studio from Thursday, June 11 to Saturday, June 13. For more Bristol Old Vic events, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk
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