Shifters | Review, Duke of York’s Theatre

Benedict Lombe's Shifters shines on the West End stage, celebrating love, culture, and the messy beauty of humanity

Shifters made its highly anticipated West End debut at the Duke of York’s Theatre, marking a historic moment for its playwright, Benedict Lombe.

As only the third Black British female writer to have her work transferred to the West End, following in the footsteps of Natasha Gordon and Yasmin Joseph, Lombe’s achievement is monumental, and it is a great step in the right direction for diversity in British theatre. The opening night was a star-studded affair, with what felt like the entire Black entertainment industry in attendance to celebrate this milestone.

The play, directed by the acclaimed Lynette Linton, stars Heather Agyepong and Tosin Cole, both of whom reprise their roles from the Bush Theatre’s original production. With all the excitement around the show, and having recently interviewed Heather for 1883 here, I was full of anticipation as my companion (aka my wife) and I took our seats.

The play is kind of a boy-meets-girl story, but with a grit and realness that make me shy away from calling it a ‘rom-com’. Don’t get me wrong, it is very funny very frequently, but it also handles some pretty heavy real life issues. This was my first time seeing Benedict Lombe’s work, and I was impressed by how real the characters felt, which was due to the wonderful writing and also of course the performers and direction. 

This is a play about people – real, flawed, sometimes messy people – dealing with the kind of emotional baggage that many of us carry. It’s about Dre and Des, two Black British youths with roots in different parts of the African diaspora, trying to figure out their place in the world and with each other. Dre, British Nigerian, and Des, British Congolese, connect deeply, partly because of their shared experiences as the only Black kids in a predominantly white, English countryside town, and partly because they both bear scars of their own.

The show began with a monologue from Dre (Cole) describing the scene at his Nana’s funeral. He’s talking about the carnage at the buffet as his family and friends are fighting to get the good food, and it’s really funny. Then Des – Destiny – (Agyepong) enters… she’s lit from behind and all around. Between Alex Berry’s innovative and minimalist set almost entirely made of light tubes, and Neil Austin’s brilliant lighting design, she appears almost as an angel stepping from heaven. This entry was repeated in flashback style several times, later in the play, emphasizing the impact she had, walking back into Dre’s life, as it turns out, after eight years apart. She gets him to confront his emotions, which becomes (had become) a recurring theme throughout their lives. She also gives him a hug in a slightly odd way, which it turns out is a callback to something from earlier in their lives that we have yet to see.

We learn this because in a flash they are 16, and we get to see them meet. The colour of the light tubes changes, and then the next scene sees them at 18, and the tubes change again. Lombe cleverly weaves these intertwining scenes together, going from one time period to another, back and forth between four or five different moments, painting a portrait of 16 years of connection and life between these two people, both of whom have their own problems, both of whom have suffered in different ways. 

The cultures of Dre and Des’s families play an important role in their lives. They are both proud of their African heritage and tease each other over the differences between Nigerian and Congolese music, food, and traditions. This back-and-forth banter adds a layer of warmth and humour to their relationship, making their bond feel even more authentic and grounded in shared experience.

I hadn’t expected comedy, and I wouldn’t describe it as a comedy by a long shot, but a lot of the dialogue had us in stitches. A lot of the more insider-type cultural references or jokes got great reactions from the majority Black audience, and no doubt some of them slipped this white writer by, though I didn’t feel I was missing out. This is a play that anyone can enjoy, but it will have a special resonance for Black people, as it is written about and for the Black community.

There was a lot of music in the show, and great sound. At the more poignant moments I would sometimes become aware of Xana’s beautiful music, subtly adding to the emotionality of the scene in a way that we are so familiar with on film, to the extent that we sometimes don’t even notice it. One of my favourite musical moments is when Des and Dre get into a full on dance routine while listening to “Easy” by DaniLeigh – the audience literally falling about laughing. I enjoyed the mix of diegetic and non-diegetic sound and music throughout the show, with Tony Gale’s sound design along with Xana’s music, constantly adding to the atmosphere and general feel of the play.

Ultimately, Shifters is about love – not just the romantic kind, but the kind of love that comes from understanding and accepting someone in all their imperfect, messy humanity. As Heather Agyepong mentioned in our recent interview, the message of the show is that “you can show up as your messy, imperfect self and still be worthy of love.” And that’s a message worth celebrating. There is a conversation at one point about a neuro-diverse child with mutism (don’t want to spoil by giving too much detail) and how the parent came to terms with accepting the child as they are and not needing to fix or change them, allowing the child the space to open up. As someone who has struggled with ADHD since childhood and has a daughter that was selectively mute for 2 years, I found that so powerful. This was reinforcing the message of acceptance, both for ourselves and others. My favourite line on this theme is something that Des says: “We can make something beautiful out of broken things, if we’re careful.” Even if we consider ourselves ‘broken’, there is always a path to peace and love.

Shifters is a beautiful story about two every day human beings doing their best in this crazy world. It’s about love, acceptance, and connection. It’s about being seen for who you are. Lombe’s writing is wonderful, and Cole and Agyepong bring a depth to their performances that really make them stand out for the talented actors that they are. I laughed, I cried, and in the end the entire audience was on their feet applauding.

Shifters is a culturally important play, and one that I hope will continue to be enjoyed for generations. I am going to go and read some more of Lombe’s work, and you should get yourself a ticket to Shifters asap, before this all too short run is over on 12th October 2024.

To book tickets visit www.shifterstheplay.co.uk

Read our full interview with Heather here.

Words by Nick Barr

Photography Marc Brenner