Review: The Colour Purple: At Home at the Leicester Curve

I wondered while writing about Sunset Boulevard a few weeks ago whether Curve would do it again: and seems like they did..! 

For those who saw it and loved it, or like me who didn't get a chance to see it, Curve brought back their 2019 award-winning production of The Colour Purple to the comfort of our homes. 

The musical is based on Alice Walker's best-selling novel (which I have read) following the story of Celie, a woman living in the American deep South in the early 20th century with the odds stacked against her.  

With a book my Marsha Norman, and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, it made it's Broadway premiere in 2005, gaining 11 Tony nominations, and winning one for La Chanze's performance as Celie. Then was done at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London in 2013 starring our very own Cynthia Erivo. She transferred with the show to Broadway in 2015, winning the 2016 Best Actress in a Musical Tony (even beating the OBC Hamilton!!). The show also won the Best Revival of Musical that year, and got 2 more nominations. 

Credit: Pamela Raith

This production was also in collaboration with the Birmingham Hippodrome, and ran during the summer of 2019 - and they brought back this cast together for a semi-staged performance that blew me away. 

Yes, the hype train is real for this one. 

Like what they did with Sunset Boulevard, the Curve did this production filmed in the round, with no set and very few props. It doesn't use the whole auditorium like they did last time, but they didn't need to this time. The Colour Purple is a far more intimate show, and using less space worked well for this production. 

One thing I need to mention is that this score is incredible. Based in sounds from the deep South, including gospel, blues, soul and American folk music, it takes you to church! But there's also an intricacy to it, from the absolutely gorgeous harmonies, to the interweaving and layering in songs such as That Fine Mister (and any others with the church ladies), which would be incredibly difficult to pull off and any lesser cast could very well struggle with. 

Credit: Pamela Raith

Well seeing as I mentioned the cast, let's take a look shall we. These characters all go through a lot, but none more so than Celie herself, and leading this cast is T'Shan Williams (Heathers). Through this show, you see Celie completely transform from someone who is beaten, abused and constantly told she's ugly, to someone who becomes independent and comfortable with her own inner beauty. Williams takes on this mammoth role with such grace, you cannot help but love her instantly. 

You felt her pain when her sister was torn away from her; you felt happy when she finally found some love for the first time in Shug; you can feel the radiance coming out of every pour when she triumphantly sings I'm Here. 

It's worth the ticket price for William's performance alone. She is outstanding. 

But the best thing about it is that this whole cast is outstanding!

Danielle Fiamanya (who I was lucky enough to see cover the lead role in & Juliet (I talked about that in my Review of the Year last year)) played Celie's sister Nettie, and she catches you eye from the get-go. To think that when this was first done in 2019, it was her professional debut!

Credit: Pamela Raith

Carly Mercedes-Dyer (Hadestown), the only new player in the main cast oozes confidence as Shug Avery, but you soon see that she's just looking for acceptance as much as everyone else. 

There's Karen Mavundukure as the sassy Sofia, broken by men when trying to stand up for herself, only to get her spark back when Celie finally breaks free. 

And finally in the cast, I need to bring up Ako Mitchell (Caroline or Change) as Mister - at the top of the show, he is truly terrifying, but as it goes on, you see the layers peeled back to reveal a scared boy in a man's body, scarred by the events that have happened in his own life. 

That may be the main cast, but in the ensemble numbers, particularly the final number, the wall of sound that comes out blows me away. And like I said, those harmonies... 😙

Credit: Pamela Raith

For the first time in a long time, I truly felt like I was back in a theatre - not because what I was watching was amazing, because I've seen a lot of fantastic and creative online content during this near year (!!) of lockdown. 

But it's the first in a while to make me truly immersed in the experience of what I was watching. The first to be swept up into this story and these incredible characters. It was just the thing to uplift me after a particularly difficult week. 

I've been a fan of the show for a while, having listened to the 2015 cast album for many years now, but now having seen it, I can now see how much of a masterpiece The Colour Purple is. 

This production is an absolute must-watch. It's not the easiest watch to begin with, in fact it can get quite disturbing; but by the end you feel so uplifted - just like Celie's journey itself. 

The Colour Purple at Home is running until 7th March

To get your tickets, click here: Curve Theatre / The Color Purple <br>– At Home (curveonline.co.uk)