Brilliantly written by Ifeyinwa Frederick, Sessions at Soho Theatre, a one-man show with the absolutely extraordinary Joseph Black as Tunde, is an entertaining, moving, wise, and important masterpiece about mental health, masculinity, patriarchy, fragility, and complexity within relationships and families. An unquestionable must-watch for anyone who struggles with these things or wishes to understand them.
There are moments when the monologues feel like they are dragging slightly, and some of the set changes could be more graceful, but all of this is completely forgivable because the production overall is close to perfection, with a mesmerising and thought provoking performance.
The writer, Ifeyinwa Frederick, has done an excellent job infiltrating the mind of a man, unpacking both fragile and toxic masculinity. The show unfolds a story of a Tunde, a black, soon-to-turn-thirty man, struggling with suppressed traumas and crisis of identity.
Having lost his job and his girlfriend, he decides to face up to therapy for the first time in his life after he cried during a one-night-stand. Frederick places this conflict in a race context as well, and portrays masculinity in an intersectional way.
The unapologetic and authentic writing does not avoid profanity or sharp humour and, therefore, makes the main character, Tunde, painfully real and multi-dimensional, but with hints of comedy too.
The real highlight of Sessions, is Joseph Black, who dynamically switches between Tunde’s inner monologues, counselling sessions (with a therapist only imagined on the stage), and phone conversations with his friends and family.
Black stays in his character during every single second of this electrifying show, delivering a convincing, natural, and almost effortless performance. The role is very demanding requiring the actor to both speak and move at a very fast pace, yet Black’s diction and body control is flawless. There is comedy in the performance that has the audience laughing at several points, but when Joseph Black portrays Tunde in tears, even the hardest of hearts melted.
Sessions, directed by Philip Morris, presents a wide range of emotions and social conflicts in an astute and observant way that strikes a chord with the audience. An absolute masterpiece.
Sessions is at Soho Theatre until 4th December 2021.
