REVIEW | The Color Purple at Home, Curve Theatre

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith

The Color Purple at Home

Curve Theatre, Leicester

★★★★★

After the success of Sunset Boulevard in Concert at Home over Christmas, the Curve are again treating audiences to a visual feast of delight. This time around the theatre are bringing back their 2019 production of The Color Purple, in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome. Curated in the vast space of the Curve’s main auditorium over a two week period, the stage adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel will tug at your heart strings and leave you picking up your jaw off the floor. It’s a joy to be able to see this spectacular musical come back to the stage once again but in an entire new format.

The last time The Color Purple came to Leicester I saw it twice and I was just as blown away this time around with the added twists and turns of camera angles to help tell this unforgettable story.

The musical carries a heavy message of solidarity, unity and our right to freedom of self-expression, topics that are ever more relevant and important in recent times. It also touches on The Civil Rights Movement and the rights of the LGBT+ community, giving a lot of grit and emotional drive for Celie’s story. It comes at the tail end of a legal fight for the Leicester theatre and a reason to showcase inclusivity in the stories we tell on stage. Celie (T’Shan Williams), a young black woman becomes a pillar of power as she survives against the odds in a world where the odds are stacked against her. This unforgettable story is told over a span of 40 years and you will experience a glimpse of what it’s like to walk in Celie’s shoes.

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith

The obvious difference is that this production is staged on a digital platform. There’s no scenery apart from some clever play of projections to navigate us through the years, a lot of the responsibility falls heavily on Ben Cracknell‘s expertise as the Lighting Designer. Cracknell has done a great job at transiting between warmth and vibrancy, aligning perfectly with the tempo of the production in it’s entirety. He elaborates on using spotlights for the darker, more emotional scenes.

The Color Purple has an exceptionally powerful musical score and this cast execute it superbly in this production. There’s very little dialogue so the music carries the weight in the storytelling here. It’s the clever camera angles, to the close ups where we see every little detail of emotion come seeping through the lens. There’s some great use of breaking the fourth wall that thrusts you into the action too!

Although this musical is very emotional and hard hitting there are some good-hearted stuff in there too. My only disappointment is that they cant receive the roaring applause of an audience, instead there’s a pin drop silence. This numbing silence acknowledged the loss of audience that the theatre so desperately needs back.

T’Shan Williams‘ is stellar in her performance as Celie and is flawless at making an iconic character her own. She really embodies the growth and journey her character undergoes. She portrays true strength surviving at the hands of her stepfather who rapes her and steals her babies to becoming a happy, independent and self confident woman. Williams does a jaw-dropping job in her performance of I’m Here, probably my favourite song of the show. She sings it solo on an empty stage, an empty auditorium as the backdrop and the effect is spine tingling (and very emotional!)

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith

William’s performance is not without the support of the entire ensemble who are terrific in the storytelling of this show, especially through this medium. Some of the other fantastic performances within the musical include Nettie (Danielle Fiamanya) and Mister (Ako Mitchell). Danielle Fiamanya‘s performance as Nettie in the 2019 production at the Curve was her professional debut and earned her The Stage Debut Best Actress in a Musical. Fiamanya is eye-catching and gorgeous as Nettie, she’s remarkable in this show. The tender moment between Celie (T’Shan Williams) and Shug Avery (Carly Mercedes Dyer)‘s characters in their rendition of What About Love will be a unforgettable moment from the show for me.

I highly recommend bringing this world class production to your home. Allow us to join Celie on a family narrative in a racially divided country. Allow The Color Purple to teach us a little something about celebrating life, love and the strength to stand up for who we are and what we believe in. The Color Purple will not only grasp your heart, but your belief for standing up for who you are! Just gorgeous from start to finish! It was a gorgeous slice of home that is so precious right now. I cannot wait to get back into that theatre! Superb work Team Curve!

The Color Purple – At Home was streamed between 16 Feb – 2 Mar 2021.