The Westbridge

Synopsis

The accusation of a Black teenager sparks disturbance on the South London streets. While tensions rise, a couple from very different backgrounds navigate the minefield between them and their families. The Westbridge explores the intricacies of living side by side, and looks at racial and cultural distinctions with humour and bite.

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 9 November 2011

The latest 'Theatre Local' adventure of the Royal Court is in a small former factory (weapons, cricket bats, sweat shirts) on several floors on Rye Lane, Peckham, where designer Ultz has transformed one of the levels of the Bussey Building into a Battersea housing estate.

How? By placing the audience in the middle of a surrounding platform on all four sides; lighting designer Katharine Williams has added neon lighting on ceiling and pillars which flash on and off when the temperature rises on the streets.

The Westbridge is Rachel De-lahay’s first play, a product of the Court’s Unheard Voices group. Even though her sharp, bitty dialogue is predictably full of street patois and hoodie slang, it sounds both invigorating and instantly familiar.

The scenes chop and change quickly, too, sustaining several story-lines, so the effect is like watching EastEnders “live” in a recording studio, but with more swe...

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Latest User Review

David Baxter - 21 December 2011:

The Westbridge portrays a world I have no experience of and doubtless had more relevance when staged in Peckham than Sloane Square, but it is impossible to question that Rachel De-Layay's is an authentic representation of life on a South London housing estate. She lays bare the racism that exists between the Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities and the questions of identity suffered by even younger members who seem to be fully integrated and happy in mixed-race relationships. It's also very funny at times, particularly through the only white character, a ridiculous blonde wanabee model(she's 5'3" at most) who thinks she lives in South Chelsea not Battersea and insists she has black credentials because she holidays in Tobago. The mostly young cast attack their roles with great vigour playing on a a stage design which owes a great deal to Earthquakes in London. This short play builds to an explosive climax when the truth about the alleged gang rape of an Asian teenage girl is revealed. The Westbridge is a powerful and convincing evocation of life in our inner cities....

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