Blackbird Hour is a poignant and striking piece of theatre. Part poetry, part play, the piece follows Eshe, a grieving and powerful Black woman, as she feels her pain, muddles through love, and how to be loved.
Written by Babirye Bukilwa and directed by Malakaï Sergeant, Blackbird Hour debuted at Bush Theatre in 2025. It was shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards, including the Woman’s prize for playwriting and the Brentwood prize for playwriting.
The intimacy of the piece is set at the pre-show. As the audience enters, Eshe exists in her world of personal chaos, drinking and surrounded by discarded food, rubbish, and clutter. It’s an insight into her distress. It’s as if to say her story hasn’t started because we’ve entered the room, she’s been drinking and hurting without us, and we are just now joining her journey.
Also established during the pre-show is the use of subtitles. A technique that speaks to the productions inclusivity and accessibility. The projected words also act to acknowledge the part poetry has in forming this play. Though occasional discrepancies and timing issues disrupted the precision, losing that completely polished feel.
Evlyne Oyedokun stunned with her performance, capturing Eshe’s coming apart with a raw intensity. Portraying a character spiralling into mania, depression, and addition is no easy feat, and she did so, scarily well at points. The high energy and constant movement brought us into Eshe’s frenzied world. Her hysteria growing with the first act and culminating in guttural pained cries – painful to watch, impressive to maintain.
In the second act, Ivan Oyik (Michael) and Olivia Nakintu (Ella) showcase their grit and passion. Initially overshadowed by Eshe’s mania, their performances were calm or controlled, offsetting the chaos. But when pitted against one another, their dynamics shifted and character depth developed.
Act three takes a sharp turn in form, veering into the surreal and physical. It was an interesting development in the piece that really punctuated the plays central theme: ‘love suffocates’. Ella becomes robotic in her care for Eshe, smothering her with questions and smiles, yet lacking genuine connection. The stylistic shift brought home the complexities of loving those in pain and being loved by those in pain, leaving a haunting final impression.
Blackbird Hour is a medley of mess, a demonstration of grief and pain as well as love and care. Get yourself to Bush Theatre.
