Review: DISC JOCKEY by Tiwai Muza & Joseph Ward/Bread and Roses Theatre 1 - 5 February 2022

‘A vibrant play about substance abuse with four smartly written characters’ ★★★★

Having received Bread and Roses Emerging Companies Award, Velvet Smoke Productions debut ‘Disc Jockey’, a vibrant play about substance abuse.  It’s never a dull moment with funky music, dance moves and four smartly written characters.

Up and coming DJ, aka, Daniel Johnson, from London finally gets his big break but with all the media pressures his light use of substances begins to spiral out of control.  His two university mates, Wilf and Clara, do all they can to try to steer him away from trouble; girlfriend Poppy appears to be his main source of grief. However, it gets complicated because Poppy was introduced to DJ by Clara and Wilf was the one who first introduced him to drugs.

The play raises questions about the relationship between friendships and substance abuse, about the pressures of fame and whether some people are just simply more susceptible to becoming addicted to hard drugs. The play manages to explore all of this through story, and never becomes preachy. There is some fine acting here too, with all the characters being believable in their roles. Tiwai Muza as DJ was particularly affecting, making us all laugh with his facial responses which highlighted his burgeoning feelings towards girlfriend Poppy. Then as things start to go wrong, he takes us with him on his journey.

The play written by Tiwai Muza & Joseph Ward has a slow mundane start which gradually gets more interesting as the drugs issue emerges. At this point the play gives up on its linear timeline and begins to show events from the past which gives us more insights into DJ’s life. This disjointed effect works really well given the events which brought him to this tipping point.

This is a very promising start to the career of Velvet Smoke Productions. A company worth watching.  

DISC JOCKEY by Tiwai Muza & Joseph Ward

Bread and Roses Theatre 1 - 5 February 2022 at 7:30pm

Box Office https://www.breadandrosestheatre.co.uk/whats-on.html#event=68471440;instance=20220201193000

Twitter - @VelvetSmokeProd     

Cast:

Tiwai Muza as DJ

Will Ni as Wilf

Sarah Cameron-West as Clara

Mei Mei Macleod as Poppy.

Produced by Sian Duggan & Tiwai Muza

Directed by Joseph Ward

Reviewer: Heather Jeffery is Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine