Scottsboro Boys

Scottsboro Boys

Garrick Theatre, London

After a sell-out success at the Young Vic in 2013, Scottsboro Boys has recently transferred to the Garrick Theatre, London, despite it's short run on the Broadway stage.  The cast is predominately male with just one female character on stage. The nine boys displayed a very energetic performance and worked very well as an ensemble. However the sole Caucasian performer played by Julian Glover lacked empathy the entire duration of the show. The mechanism of the set was very eloquent and clever; using only chairs to form the structure of scenes and props alike. This married with the lighting design was very atmospherically impacting.

With such a heavy concept, the requirement for sensitivity is impeccable. Unfortunately this was sometimes absent. One particular scene that was very uncomfortable was the Electric Chair number, displaying a well designed lighting display that was completely out of place and unnecessary in the development of the very uneven plot. Though very humorous, there were many areas of the show where you laughing with hesitation due to comical acts portrayed by the mistrals.

There are a number of great musical numbers in the show, the choreography was very strong in many areas. However upon departure from the show you come to question, is it still necessary to education such concepts in Western Culture especially through song and dance? Would the mechanical language of a dramatic play justify the story better?