‘What is the price to be paid for freedom?’ is the question posed by The Last Black Messiah, written by and starring Emeka Agada. Playing at the Jack Studio Theatre this month, this production uses an interesting premise to try and tackle this question, but ultimately remains relatively shallow in the exploration of its themes whilst sacrificing consistent characterisation. Despite its thought-provoking assertions, The Last Black Messiah is a play of unexecuted potential.
The story begins in the 90s, USA, with the arrest of Dr. Oko, a former Howard University professor, all portrayed through sound effects, a bit underwhelming for a high-stakes opening scene. We are then brought to a police interrogation room in the facility where he is being held, as Asante Rogers, a former student turned journalist, visits, determined to capture Dr. Oko’s legacy as a leader of the US Black revolutionary movement.
The two-hander progresses through Dr. Oko’s retelling, interspersed with theoretical debate between the two and flashback sequences. It was very exciting to hear mentions of various social and racial theories, as the play touched on ideas such as those of Frantz Fanon and the psychology behind decolonisation. It was a shame, then, that these ideas were usually only brought up in passing, left underexplored in favour of returning to the question of the cost of revolution. The flashbacks are by far the best examples of this central theme being tackled effectively. They bring a sense of movement and energy, and provide a foundation upon which the audience can construct a picture of the characters’ motives. There should definitely be more.
Continuing the trend, the performances in The Last Black Messiah were not quite nuanced enough to realise their full potential. Falling just short of realism, particularly in moments of high-intensity emotion, they lacked consistent characterisation, and struggled to justify the characters’ quick shifts in seemingly core values, particularly Dr. Oko’s, who is a complicated character. Dramatic moments felt cheapened by a lack of emotional build-up. It is revealed a short time into the play that Dr. Oko is marked for execution, which feels like an unnecessary addition. Certain elements of the play’s logic function better without it, and its removal would reduce the performers’ burden, who are already required to focus on theoretical debates, the dangerous ‘Project White House’ failsafe, survivor’s guilt, extortion, and the weight of a lifetime in prison for the simple desire for freedom.
The Last Black Messiah plays host to some wonderful and necessary discussions, but is marred by a lack of consistent characterisation and a script that is unrealistic to its own detriment. There is a compelling and urgent play somewhere within this framework, one that interrogates its central question with clarity and emotional weight, but this production never quite settles long enough to find it. What remains is a piece that gestures towards significance without fully earning it.
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