REVIEW: The Life and Death of Martin Luther King by Paul Stebbings at Golden Goose Theatre, 2 - 5 January 2025

‘Fast paced and emotive … it demonstrates that King’s words and life still convey a very present message to humanity.’ ★★★★★   

The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. has long made good fodder for exploration in books, film, and theatre. From the deep dive of Ava DuVernay's Selma with David Oyelowo to the mystical play about the last night of King’s life, The Mountaintop, by Katori Hall. There is something compelling about this man’s life and TNT Theatre adeptly sieves through the highlights of both his biography and the political arena of the US during that period of the Civil Rights movement.

The story is as described on the tin, starting with King as a young preacher returning from his time in the North to take up a position in his hometown of Montgomery, Alabama, up to his fateful last moment in Memphis, Tennessee. Covering everything from the Bus Boycotts that kicked off the Civil Rights movement to King’s rise as a key figure in that movement, the non-violent protest in Birmingham, the walk in Selma, the famed March on Washington, the rise of Black Power, as well as the FBI’s interests in King’s ‘personal pursuits’, the story moves quickly and yet emotively.

A captivating 5-person cast, where no one let the side down, was constantly multi-roling. Even King (Adrian Decosta) transitioned to a minor role near the end, using a white half-mask, as much of the play utilised white or black masks to represent the character’s race. Reminiscent of the theatre practice of using ‘blackface’ (black shoe polish or other things) to represent a black person on stage, usually in ridicule, this served to elegantly remind us of the central issue of race at the heart of the story. Decosta brings a shadow of the great man forward from the darkness without directly imitating, illuminating the man’s struggles and strengths. Especially impressive is Lincoln James, who alternates from bus driver to FBI agent to jailer to King’s close friend, with incredible zeal. Taora Bankole, the only female, has major transitions as well, from playing Coretta Scott King to Rosa Parks, but also characters from a sharecropper fighting for voter registration to King’s late-night fling. Ralph Abernathy (Andrew Earl) is believable as the kingmaker, close friend and Baptist preacher and also as Malcom X, while Jack Nader (Will Batty) single-handedly represents the media with his unabashed, TV presenter style.

The dialogue in this piece is moving without being contrived and gleans from key passages of the Bible, King's speeches, and primary documents from the time. leaving us at the intermission with a “Dream” and, in the second act, bringing us into the nightmare of Malcolm X’s philosophy and the growing Black Power movement. The piece has to be condensed so it is impossible to display certain aspects, using doses of creative liberty, such as Rosa Parks' decision on the bus being random and alone, or the means of King’s assassination.

With bright white, wooden furniture in sharp contrast to the Golden Goose Theatre’s black walls, the set is the epitome of versatility, moving fluidly and constantly. With the tight pace, a constant sense of urgency propelling us to an inevitable end, the lighting had to be exact. The music (John Kenny) and sound evoked a sense of the time beautifully.

The choreography is creative throughout, but especially in the scene where a recording of Decosta reading Letter from a Birmingham Jail while the actors moved around the stage with heavy chains, not dancing, but very graceful and haunting.

Martin Luther King, Jr. icon of the 20th century, divisive like many great people. This production does not shy away from his shortcomings. Yet, it demonstrates that his words and life still carry a very present message to humanity. This show, like King’s message, deserves as big an audience as possible.

The Life and Death of Martin Luther King by Paul Stebbings at The Golden Goose Theatre, 2 - 5 January, 2025

Box Office https://www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk/whatson/the-life-and-death-of-martin-luther-king 

Written by Paul Stebbings (and Original Director)

Performed by Toara Bankole, Will Batty, Adrian Decosta, Andrew Earl, Lincoln James

Directed by Adrian Decosta

Music by John Kenny

Produced by Tom Vercnocke