Amani Napthali's musical is wild, often weird and occasionally wonderful. Even in its less impressive and coherent moments, of which there are many over its three-hour duration, it has a fierce passion and cheeky humour, as well as some terrific music and dancing, and elements of physical theatre that make most other productions seem tired and anaemic. You just have to be patient and go with the flow.
The evening takes the form of a courtroom drama in which a black man, Ragamuffin, is on trial for crimes against the African people. The evidence against him is the Broadwater Farm uprisings and the slave rebellions of the late 18th century that saw the establishment of the first black republic of Haiti in 1804. The audience is cast in the role of the jury, and must decide whether Ragamuffin is guilty of causing the criminalisation of black youth or whether his actions and attitudes are justified by the centuries of oppression and prejudice he has endured.
This is a history lesson dressed up as a party, with ragga, hip-hop and sampling as the prosecution and defence state their cases. Meanwhile, events in 18th-century Haiti are mingled with more recent history, such as the deaths of Cynthia Jarrett, Stephen Lawrence and Damilola Taylor. Film is integrated with the live action very effectively, so that the burning rage of the night of October 6 1985, when the Broadwater Farm estate erupted following the death of Jarrett during a police search of her home, is well conveyed.
Far less effective are the Haitian scenes. which have a touch of Blackadder about them. But then this is very much an evening of contrasts: when it is good it is very good, and when it is bad it is truly terrible. Sometimes it is even incomprehensible. I have seldom sat through a piece of theatre that I have enjoyed so much one minute and hated so much the next, that has seemed so tedious and then such fun.
My head says that what this show needs is a director other than the author to really knock it into shape and knock off at least an hour. My heart says that would probably completely destroy it, so you just have to accept Ragamuffin for the very rough diamond it is.
· Until July 27. Box office: 020-8534 0310.
