THEATRE

Rafiq Richard’s show is very engaging and enjoyable. It all turns on his dual heritage as a man who is partly Asian and partly Black. He really makes us feel how much he wants to belong in school as a child – to be in one of the groups, maybe one of the black kids. The time when he meets his father, who arrives at the door and looms over the small boy – this is described especially vividly, eyes being strikingly memorable here.

He is waiting for his father and friends to arrive, and then to feel part of them. And waiting…. a little like Waiting for Godot….. he does need to develop his material. This is a rich vein to mine – maybe in the direction of other relatives, or imagined family meetings which are then denied and undercut. With his material more fleshed out in this way I’m sure this capable performer would have greater success.

TC