No More Mr Nice Guy, Broadway Theatre Catford Review
Written by Penny for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
No More Mr Nice Guy is a new piece of writing, presented by the Nouveau Riche creative movement, associate artists of the Broadway Theatre, and the company behind the multi award-winning For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, which has just opened in London’s West End for a limited run to phenomenal reviews.
Written, composed and performed by Cal-l Jonel, No More Mr Nice Guy is already an award-winning play and had its world premiere in the Studio at Catford’s Broadway Theatre, ahead of a UK tour. It’s an intimate performance space, ideally suited to this confessional piece, in which Jonel’s character, a teacher called Keloughn Douglas struggles to balance the priorities in his life and the expectations of his loved ones. He’s planning his wedding, dealing with the day-to-day business of supporting his students, looking for a promotion to a senior leadership role whilst still nurturing his dreams of being a professional musician.
Jonel is a very charismatic performer, with a strong and energetic presence, instantly building a rapport with his audience. The play comes across as part gig, part stand-up routine and part theatre – with Jonel not only playing the central character of Keloughn, but also all the people that impact on his life. He gives hilarious portrayals of Cliff, his cockney geezer line manager, a posh record company exec and the kids in his classroom. This is at its most impressive at the play’s climax when Jonel switches between Keloughn, Cliff and the school’s head teacher, jumping between these three clearly distinct characters without missing a beat.
Jonel is also a hugely talented musician and singer – interspersing the dialogue with rap and original songs. He’s supported by two other excellent musicians, on drums and synth/bass guitar. At times the sound balance is a little bit off so that vocals are overwhelmed but this is a minor point that can easily be addressed. The rap is very fast-paced and I didn’t catch every word, but a lot of the time Jonel is repeating lines that have already been delivered as prose, making it much easier to follow. The musical highlights are when he is singing, with a brilliantly smooth r’n’b tone. In the play, Keloughn’s song, ‘Cheesecake and Wine’ goes viral on the internet. It’s now available for download as a single. It’s a comic song in the play, but with an underlying message that you shouldn’t cut the starter and main course to skip to dessert as you need to put the groundwork in!
As well as offering plenty of cheesecake-based and other laughs, this is play that is not afraid to tackle more serious topics. Although it is acknowledged that Keloughn is a good and experienced teacher, when it comes to the possibility of promotion, he is urged to take advice from colleague “Becky” who, although she has less teaching experience, is senior to him thanks to her Russell Group university education and privilege. A throwaway remark from Becky about one of Keloughn’s students shows the casual racism that is never far from the surface for a Black man trying to make something of himself. The contrast with the lighter material in the play makes this all the more shocking and hard-hitting.
No More Mr Nice Guy is an excellently written play, and highly entertaining gig theatre. It’s performed with great skill and charisma, allows its audience to vocally react to what’s happening on stage, and also gives a clear insight into what it’s like to be a Black man in Britain. It could maybe do with losing 5-10 minutes off its running time as it can feel a little repetitive at times, but overall it’s a high energy piece of theatre that packs a very satisfying punch.
No More Mr Nice Guy runs at Catford’s Broadway Theatre until Saturday 16th March 2024 and then tours the UK. Find out more here.
★★★★
