Theatre Review: Fela!

FELA! London Production photos by Tristam Kenton.

Rating: ****

Fela! is quite hard to fit into any particular genre.  It’s an infusion of dance, theatre, history, and Afrobeat music.  The show is set at the Africa Shrine club in the heart of the political turmoil that gripped Lagos, Nigeria, in the 1980s.  The show’s premise is that this is musician and political activist, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s (Sahr Ngaujah), last gig at the club and as the performance progresses he regales the story of his life to the audience; from the creator of Afrobeat, to using his musical prowess and influence to spearhead the populist campaign against the corrupt and oppressive Nigerian government.

This production took a while to chip away at the staunch British theatre-going etiquette; the attempt at getting the audience to sing, clap, and even stand up and hip thrust in unison was met with more than a slight disdain.  After all, this is the National Theatre, darling!  But once the audience had loosened up and stopped feeling embarrassed and harassed, and the show settled down into a piece of musical theatre rather than an audience-participation extravaganza, it exploded with an immense amount of electrical energy and pizazz.  What’s more, the entire company are beyond virtuosic; each and every performer and musician being sublimely talented.

Ngaujah, transferring from the original Broadway production, is astonishing.  He brings an intense passion, soul, and power to Fela’s character, and unequivocally deserved his Tony Award nomination for ‘Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical’ for the role.  Fiery American Civil Right’s activist, Sand Isadore (Paulette Ivory), has a voice that storms the auditorium with an unforgettable force and grace.  The spirit of Fela’s murdered mother, Funmilayo Anikulapo-Kuti (Melanie Marshall), redefines “fierce” with her magnificent and humbling gospel roar, which made her my personal favourite out of the whole cast.

The band is brilliant, performing with an enviable gusto and the chorus are all highly accomplished dancers who back-flip, charge, and fly about the stage to the African-inspired routines choreographed by Bill T. Jones, winning him this year’s Tony Award for “Best Choreography”.

Costumes are intensely colourful and seductive serving to add fierce sex appeal to the already smouldering cast.  The staging is also pretty impressive, turning the Olivier Theatre into a Nigerian music club with string-lights and colourful murals at every turn.  Not to mention some pretty ingenious use of projection and black-lighting.

My only major criticism is that the Olivier Theatre is not the best venue for the production; the rigid and formal architecture of the auditorium only aiding the initially frosty response from the audience.  Maybe a more informal space, like the South Bank Big Top used for the raucously delightful La Soirée, would help ease the audience better into the joyous high-energy of the production.

All in all, the show is a great evening; profound, inspiring, and a heck of a lot of fun. The Afrobeat music is incredibly infectious and the narrative is powerful and involving, making the show well worth seeing.

Playing at the National Theatre (Southbank, London, SE1 9PX)

Performances until 23 January 2011

Tickets: £10-£44 (concessions available)

Call 020 7452 3000 or book online at www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/felalondon