A Strange Loop, The Barbican Review

★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Eliott

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

When Michael R. Jackson's A Strange Loop landed off-Broadway in 2019, it took America by storm, with the book becoming a Pulitzer Prize winner in 2020. A Tony winner and Grammy nominee, the show enjoyed further success in Washington D.C and Broadway, and now in 2023, with the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Alan Cumming, Mindy Kaling and Billy Porter backing the show as Producers, the story of Usher graces our shores and drifts into The Barbican.

The story centres around Usher, a Broadway usher who dreams of becoming a Musical Theatre writer, and whether it's on a work shift Ushering for a Broadway show, on the subway, or in his cramped office space, he's always at his pad, jotting down his ideas for a musical about a Black gay man who is writing a musical about a Black gay man, who is writing a musical about a black gay man, hence the idea of A Strange Loop (think the Chicken and the Egg as a real-life example of this). It's Kyle Ramar Freeman who takes on the role here, coming to the UK having already featured in the Broadway run of the show, and his delivery in vocals and performance is hugely admired here. Giving a performance of a lifetime, you feel such empathy and compassion for the character, with audiences vocally responding to his actions and real-life problems, which Usher uses to dramatise his writing of A Strange Loop.

Alongside Usher are his intrusive, over-dramatic, inner thoughts; from self-doubt to sexual orientation, they are played with such force by Sherlene Hector, Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea, Yeukayi Ushe, Tendai Humphrey Sitima, Danny Bailey, and Jean-Luke Worrell (Understudying for this performance), and they provide some stellar humour throughout and even embody the human form of animals from The Lion King to emphasise Usher's family dynamics.

Whilst humour is dominant throughout the first half of A Strange Loop, it would be reminiscent of me not to mention here the rather unhinged moments that make for rather uncomfortable viewing; a scene with Usher meeting a man one night for his sexual needs to be reawoken, was met with some disdain from the audience because whilst the scene provides a flow-through from a previous moment in a sexual clinic, you can't help but wonder just how vital this moment is. It's a testament though to the actors on stage for handling such a powerful scene, despite disruptive audience members.

As the music weaves through the story (Music & Lyrics from Michael R. Jackson), Stephen Brackett's direction adds a freshness to proceedings in giving the thoughts collective movement, and mixed with Arnulfo Maldonado's design, which holds some very spectacular visions heading into the climax of the piece, A Strange Loop boasts a creative team at the very top of their game. It might be hard to watch for many, but the story holds such power in speaking up for the black community, and those in a minority, that it's a production which should be praised, and I wouldn't put it past us if it continues its current critical success with the upcoming award season.