Tones – A Hip-Hop Opera - ★★★☆☆
A small intimate studio.
A bright blue wash of light.
A paint splattered ladder, metal workbench, and paint roller take centre stage.
We settle into our seats, as we’re invited to embark on a coming of age story with Tones - A Hip-Hop Opera. A 60-minute long, one-man show, directed by John Kelly, composed by 3D Williams, and written and performed by the winner of Best Book and Lyrics at the Black British Theatre Awards 2024, Gerel Falconer. For the next hour we experience spirited, symphonious storytelling, composed of raw rhymes and raps, detailing the life of a North-West London raised, Caribbean blooded, Black boy in his exploration of identity, talent and the importance of integrity.
The performance opens with the main character Jerome (Gerel Falconer) emerging from the curtains, as he proceeds to climb the ladder and open his book filled with lyrical musings. He is sat at the top, in his baggy grey dungarees, and explains how he always liked the idea of painting, even though he wasn't particularly skilled at it. This simple line sets the precedent for the rest of the play, as he searches to find his creative voice and solidify his view of self through wisdom from his uncle, formal education, friendship, and writing rap-battle worthy bars.
The set is very simplistic, and feels underwhelming at times, but as the play takes off tempo wise, it feels deliberate that the set acts as a blank canvas. Throughout the play, the same set is meant to physically represent a council estate, park, mansion, radio station, hardware store, university, hospital and more, but metaphorically it reminds us that we as individuals get to shape, colour, and steer our future.
The plot follows Jerome from primary school, all the way to Durham university. His first glimpse of being different and set apart starts at primary school, when he is invited to his close friend Henry's house for a birthday party. Henry goes to the same primary school as Jerome, but they live vastly different lives once they leave the school gates. Henry comes from a White, upper-middle class background, and it is apparent that his parents float around affluent circles, while Jerome comes from a single-parent family in Harlesden, and gets teased for having a studious streak, and not sounding Black enough. These themes only intensify as they grow up to go to different secondary schools, and discuss their post-adolescent ambitions.
There is a balanced blend of seriousness and humour throughout, and Falconer successfully plays the roles of many different characters with a stark difference in accent and cadence, including three different relatives, and a host of secondary school, and university students. We get a strong insight into Jerome’s ascent to consciousness, as he dives head first into the common university experience riddled with confusion, brief moments of sexual exploration, and experimenting with narcotics.
Falconer doesn’t miss a beat during the performance, and manages to keep the audience engaged and energised throughout. There’s no fault to be said for his flow and delivery, however the ending felt abrupt and forgetful, shattering the overall structure of the piece.
Despite this, Tones – A Hip-Hop Opera is still a must-watch for those who are passionate about the intersection of art within music, theatre, race and class, particularly those who are fond of the drill, rap, grime, and garage music scene. It paints a nostalgic picture of a time specific to the Black British experience in the late 90s and 00s, and acts as an ode to a simpler time when Dizzee Rascal’s Fix Up, Look Sharp was played nonstop on the radio, and mobile phones weren’t synonymous with social media. We were left contemplating where inquisitiveness ends, and ignorance starts, inside and outside our own communities.
★★★☆☆
By Nadia Mantock
Tones – A Hip-Hop Opera is showing at Brixton House until 15 February.