Black is the Color of My Voice
★★★★☆ Stirring
Pleasance at EICC (Venue 150): Tue 20 – Sun 25 Aug 2024
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Created and directed by Apphia Campbell, Black is the Color of My Voice from Seabright Live looks back at the life of a musician, singer, and civil-rights activist on what seems to be the eve of her father’s funeral, as his death inspires her to seek clarity and redemption.
Based on the life of Nina Simone, the play stars Nicholle Cherrie as the singer, who here is known by the stage name Mina Bordeaux, born Eugena, an analogue for Simone’s stage name, and birth name of Eunice. Other names are similarly altered throughout the story, but the details of Simone’s life remain unchanged.
Nicholle Cherrie. Pic: Steve Ullathorne.
Cherrie gives an extraordinary performance as both an actor and a vocalist, travelling through the full breadth of human emotion as she explores Mina Bordeaux’s life, from a three year old discovering her musical gift, to the rage and despair of violence against Black Americans during the Civil Rights Movement that inspired some of her most powerful music, to the trauma of losing her father without the opportunity to reconcile their estrangement. The show features some of Simone’s greatest hits, performed with tenderness, strength, and absolute mastery of her vocal instrument by Cherrie.
compelling
Campbell’s script is compelling, but feels as if some pieces are missing, particularly regarding Bordeaux’s father and the sudden estrangement between them, which jumps out abruptly from the dialogue leading up to it. It’s also never made completely clear where Bordeaux is or why she’s there, and a knock on the door and a ringing phone near the beginning of the play are abandoned without resolution. The device of Bordeaux recalling her memories to a photo of her father does well to tie them all together, but some of the episodes seem clipped, needing just a little more time.
Black is the Color of My Voice still manages to pack a huge amount of story and emotion into its short runtime, begging the question of whether a ninety minute version might allow it to flourish even further, with a bit more space to breathe. Apphia Campbell has written a stirring, pointed, and poignant tribute to Nina Simone that deserves every minute Nicholle Cherrie spends embodying it.
Running time: One hour and 10 minutes (no interval)
Pleasance at EICC (Pentland), 150 Morrison Street EH3 8EE (Venue 150)
Tuesday 20 – Sunday 25 August 2024
Daily: 8pm
Details and tickets at: Book here
Website: https://bitcomv.com
Facebook: @BITCOMV
Instagram: @bitcomv
X: @bitcomv
ENDS
