Death of England: Delroy ★★★★★ @sohoplace | Jul 23 - Sep 28, 2024


Delroy is the complementary narrative to Clint Dyer's and Roy Williams' Michael in the Death of England trilogy. While both plays stand as independent works, they are definitely enriched when viewed together. Delroy presents the events recounted in Michael from a fresh perspective and carries the narrative along to the next generation. While Michael is haunted by his father and the persona which the latter adopted to deal with the new post-war political and social realities of his world, Delroy is a black Englishman born into an environment which questions his very right to so describe himself. He hears both the voice of his mother with her calculated feistiness and survival wisdom and his own inner cry to simply be treated for who he is and as an equal. While Delroy's alienation sometimes finds companionship in Michael's world as they rip down the school sign which represents the established order, he is equally accustomed to, and confused by, being "othered" by his friend. The romantic relationship of Delroy with Michael's sister, Carly, proves to be as fraught as that with her brother, but in contrast to the death in the first play, here there is a birth which may bind the divided country in a common future. Paapa Essiedu puts in a performance that matches that of Thomas Coombes' Michael. He also does a first-rate job of conjuring up the other players in this small world, and his impersonation of Michael is spot on – no small feat considering that the audience already knows this character very well. Essiedu also registers a wonderful range of emotion in the performance from rage to tenderness, simultaneously displaying a quick improvisational wit in his interactions with the audience. Once again, Director Clint Dyer gets a brilliant performance from his star, ensuring that audience interest never flags. Our highest commendation for both these initial parts of the Death of England trilogy. Writers Clint Dyer and Roy Williams have not only created nicely defined and complex individuals, they have managed to provide a fascinating commentary on the current state of England – the tormented passing of the old and the uneasy birth of the new.

Rated: ★★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Helen Murray

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