Black Love by Chinonyerem Odimba - ★★☆☆☆

Black Love is an R&B inspired musical, following siblings, Aurora and Orion who share a small London flat that they inherited following the death of their mother.

The show opens in song, as free-spirited Aurora sings through countless pet names for her vagina. As her vocals interrupt her brothers self tape, we’re introduced to hopeful actor Orion and become witness to a warm and joy-filled relationship between brother and sister. As the show unfolds we meet Lois, Orion’s hoop wearing, slang talking, white girlfriend who, ultimately puts an obvious strain on their relationship.

The most developed and perhaps nuanced character in the play is Orion. We see how unlike Aurora, he has not overly idealised their parents love, but sees the cracks in their relationship. And, following an impassioned speech about how he prefers to date white women, as they offer an easier life compared to the ‘difficulties’ of Black women, we get glimpse into his childhood to see how he became the Orion he is today.

The development of Orion however seems to come at the expense of Aurora. Besides her commitment to hedonism and maintaining the Black love passed on from her parents, we learn little about who she really is.

Threaded through the performance are tender voiceovers, in which real Black people describe what Black love is to them.

In contrast to this softness, the transitions between scenes were quite abrupt, supported by blinking red and white lights, and blended audio snippets from protests, news stories and sirens. The meaning behind these transitions was unclear, at times pulling the audiences out of the smooth atmosphere created by the beautiful musical score.

Like the scene transitions, the mention of George Floyd and a subsequent call out of other murdered black men and women seem distinctly out of place. With conversations about race continuously evolving, we felt that the commentary on race lacked nuance at times, not reflecting the complexities of the subject matter at play today. We wish more faith was placed in the audience’s ability to understand and engage with the intricacies of race and identity.

Black Love offers moments of joy and laughter. Nicholle Cherrie (Aurora) and Nathan Queeley-Dennis (Orion) beautifully showcase the ups and downs of relationships between siblings, and as a trio alongside Beth Elliot we hear some beautiful vocals.

However, despite these moments, we’re not sure the show was able to do what it intended, leaving us wondering what we were meant to take away.

Black Love is showing at Kiln Theatre until 23 April.