THEATRE Online
Written by Marco Ramirez
Online- Lincoln Center Theater(sic) Private Reels via Broadway on Demand
Available until 16 May 2021
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ****1/2
This review published only on this blog. KH
Clarke Peters, Khris Davis
‘I’m gonna change things!” says Khris Davis as the charismatic, African-American heavyweight boxer, Jay ‘The Sport’ Jackson, in The Royale by Marco Ramirez.
But can Jay risk winning his bout against the white champion, Bernard Bixby, when it may change things for both the better and the worse for his African-American community?
Set between 1905 and 1910 in various places in the US, Ramirez’s confronting and compelling play is directed imaginatively and deftly by Rachel Chavkin who conjures a dramatic and conflict-driven world that seems to be even more perilous outside the ring.
Davis is magnetic as Jay and is supported by a skilful cast including Montego Glover as Jay’s apprehensive sister, Nina, John Lavelle as his ambitious fight promoter, Max, Clarke Peters as Jay’s trainer, Wynton, and McKinley Belcher III as Fish, his sparring partner.
Khris Davis, McKinley Belcher III
The set, designed by Nick Vaughan, is a cramped wooden-floored boxing arena with the audience on three sides peering into the arena over the wooden barrier.
There is no choreographed stage fighting but the fights are stylised and dramatic, with the boxers commentating their own fight moves and revealing their internal thoughts and distractions through self-narration.
The sounds of fist on flesh and bodies hitting the mat are represented by percussive sound from the actors’ clapping, skin slapping, foot stomping and resonating thuds that echo the punches they land.
This may appear to be a play about boxing, but Jay’s story and his internal struggle illuminate the issues surrounding the African-American community, their resistance to inequality and their continuing struggle to attain equal rights in the U.S.
As a white person in a country other than America, I found this stylish production thought-provoking, challenging and enlightening about the issues it addressed.
By Kate Herbert
Director Rachel Chavkin
Writer Marco Ramirez
Fish – McKinley Belcher III | Jay – Khris Davis | Nina – Montego Glover | Max – John Lavelle | Wynton – Clarke Peters
Sets – Nick Vaughan | Costumes – Dede Ayite | Lighting – Austin R. Smith | Sound – Matt Hubbs | Stage Manager – Karyn Meek
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