Black Power Desk - The Lowry

IT’S hard to believe a government would sanction the setting up of a secretive police organisation with a specific remit - to smash black activism by targeting its leaders.

Such a body, which gave this fabulous musical its title, was surely the by product of bygone dictatorships like apartheid South Africa.

But the country in question is a little closer to home. The country in question is ours.

The covert unit ran, believe it or not, until the 1990s.

Black Power Desk had a profound effect on me, unlike anything I’ve experienced in a theatre for many, many years.

Urielle Klein-Mekengho has created a script that’s heartfelt and brimming with passion and the end result is a deeply affecting piece of theatre that’s highly emotional in several places, even though this exciting writer, whose work is refreshingly new to me, doesn’t try to play on the audience’s emotions.

My appetite for theatre with a social bite is unquenchable for me, even though every aspect of this genre has its place.

Most of the action takes place in a restaurant that also serves up much hilarity via the banter between owners and customers and the irst 45 minutes of the evening was relatively light hearted.

The show’s central characters are sisters Celia and Dina, who, despite their blood ties, are very different characters. Celia wants to sing. Dina, on the other hand, wants to protest against the racism blighting the lives of those around her.

The musical has a rich and varied score and Rochelle Rose’s voice is so, so good I would willingly listen to her sing the phone book. Veronica Carabai also had quite a stage presence as Dina and the two characters had some memorably heated exchanges as they clashed.

But this celebration of courage defiance, set in London during the 1970s, deserved a far longer run at The Lowry and I hope in return is planned in the not too distant future.

Shows as important as this, as challenging and thought provoking as this, must be seen by as big an audience as possible.

Even more so in our current climate.

For more information about what’s on at The Lowry, visit www.thelowry.com.

Star rating - *****