Even before opening, Tambo & Bones – the poet Dave Harris’s satire about the past, present and future of race in the US – was causing a stir. After choosing to have one evening of the 28-day run as a Black Out performance, the play was condemned for its supposed isolation of white audiences. But a word of warning to all the haters: if you are getting riled up by this decision, you’ve seen nothing yet. Harris’s script is a loud, provocative confrontation of the US’s muddy racial history.
With constant wit and self-awareness, Harris acknowledges all the hardships and prejudices Black people face daily. But much more than a lesson in unfairness, this triptych is form-shifting and endlessly surprising. The duo Tambo and Bones are trapped in a minstrel show, wasting away the hours bickering in the artificial idyllic countryside. So, what is the problem? They have no money to their name.
The first, Beckett-ish section of the play – the “past” element – sees Tambo and Bones (portrayed superbly by Rhashan Stone and Daniel Ward respectively) kitted up in shabby tops and tails, trying to impress the audience with foolery and slapstick for quarters. With no luck, Bones takes things further, cutting himself with a knife. Tambo tries to stop him, reassuring him that the audience would not want to see him suffer. But the underlying question is: why are two Black men expected to perform for an audience anyway?
Then, we jump forward to the modern day – where the production, directed by Matthew Xia, steps up a notch. Tambo and Bones are now massively successful rap artists. They have broken out of the minstrel show, but at what cost? They are performing to packed arenas, but singing songs about Black pain.
After an inane, pace-breaking interval, we find ourselves in the future. The US has come out of a civil war and white people have been annihilated. With the help of two white robots (uncannily brought to life by Dru Cripps and Jaron Lammens) Tambo and Bones look back on how the new world order has come about. But, once a familiar history starts to resurface, everything has to come to an end.
No spoilers, but a last act of violence makes the final scene one of the most affecting I have seen on stage. Unique, challenging and oh-so necessary, it is a moment that will stay with you long after the play’s close.
• Tambo & Bones is at Theatre Royal Stratford East, London, until 15 July.
