‘Please do not touch” reads a sign in front of a stolen Somali afro comb on display in a British heritage site. But why should we listen when it has been placed here by thieving hands? Mason, a social justice TikToker, is here to expose the artefact’s hidden colonial history to the world. But, when he gets caught veering a little too close to the comb, a tragic chain reaction is forced into motion. Mason is locked away from his friends and family in a young offender institution, his voice effectively silenced in the process.
Written by former Birmingham poet laureate Casey Bailey and adapted from his 2021 poetry collection of the same name, the script hums with expressive lyricism. We meet an adrenalised, boyish Mason (Tijan Sarr), eager and ready to pull apart a broken system, and watch as he is squashed down into quiet despair. He keeps himself busy with books and poetry, trying to find the words to make sense of his time inside. But any joy he finds in prison can be robbed from him, with one cruel decision. The music by Kayodeine rhythmically accompanies Mason’s frustrations. As the scenes roll on, he is pushed to grow up before our eyes.
But with only one actor playing all the roles, the narrative is hard to keep grasp of. Sarr darts from playing Mason, to a prison guard, to his mother visiting him in jail, by varying his voice and movements slightly. But the characters are not distinct enough to have an effect. Conversations, such as the one Mason has with his father, don’t pierce as they should, and the dialogue is swallowed by the cavernous empty stage space. In a production directed by Gail Babb, he comes alive as he pushes down pillars that represent a jail cell, but in the moments of stillness, you long for more animation to fill the space.
Bailey’s writing, rightfully, burns with a sense of inequity and the failings of the criminal justice system are exposed in full force. But the production itself needs more fire to become a powerhouse drama.
• At Belgrade theatre, Coventry, until 21 September. Then touring until 28 September.
