Alterations, National Theatre (Lyttelton) Review
Arinzé Kene (Walker Holt) and Cherrelle Skeete (Darlene Holt) in Alterations at the National Theatre. Photo by Marc Brenner
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Content Warnings: This play was written in 1978 and therefore contains historical language and themes that some people may find upsetting.
This production contains haze and loud music.
Written in 1978, Michael Abbensett’s play is described as an era-defining drama about the Guyanese experience of 1970s London, and the aspirations and sacrifices of the Windrush generation. With additional material by Trish Cooke, this production is its largest ever staging.
The play centres on the character of tailor Walker Holt and follows him over the course of 24 hours, during which he is working to fulfil a huge order from a new client. As well as his professional challenges, it also looks at the friendships and relationships that are also facing pressure due to Walker’s desire for business success.
There’s a buzz in the air as the audience enters the auditorium. The open stage shows us the inside of Holt’s shop. There’s music playing and a young man with a neat afro and a boombox struts around the stage, moving in time to the beat. It instantly draws us into 70s London and sets the scene.
As the play starts, we are introduced to Walker Holt and his client, Mr Nat. Holt has been tasked with altering bagloads of trousers with a strict deadline. If he manages it, the payment will be enough for him to achieve his dream of buying his own shop, something he has been desperate to do since arriving in the UK from Guyana. The play then follows Holt’s attempts to fulfil the brief to his client’s expectations. The basic story calls to mind a 70s sitcom, with a rather loose plot allowing for comedy mishaps and misunderstandings. As the deadline approaches, Holt in particular becomes increasingly manic as things spiral out of control. But, as the action unfolds, as well as the comedic elements, we are also able to see how Holt’s need to prove himself in business has affected all of the people around him.
Director Lynette Linton has used a revolving stage on which to set the bulk of the action. It takes us from Holt’s workroom to the rest area out the back. Designed by Natalie Johnson, it is messy and disorganised, reflecting the rather chaotic energy that Linton has brought out of her cast. She also makes good use of music (from composer XANA) to indicate changes of scene and time moving on during the 24 hours of the action. Occasionally, a couple in smart but plain white outfits come to stand at the side of the stage, giving us a hint of the idyll that Holt and his generation would have seen in their move to the UK. It’s a stark contrast with the bright clashing colours and cramped conditions of their new lives, played out on the stage.
The cast is led by Arinzé Kene as Walker Holt. He is hardly ever off stage and perfectly conveys a man on the edge – struggling to juggle his client’s demands, his friends and co-workers’ apathy and frustrations, his wife’s disappointment and his own ambition. He is not a particularly likeable character and as the play progresses we clearly see how much his single-minded dream has impacted on the people around him. Despite this Kene still manages to infuse his character with enough charm and charisma to keep the audience on side.
The establishment of the characters around him and their viewpoints were not always as clear. The use of strong accents and quickfire delivery along with some rather mumbled lines meant that it took me a while to fall in with the performance style and some of the earlier interactions, setting up relationships, did not land as well as they could have done. A notable exception was Cherrelle Skeete, playing Holt’s long-suffering wife Darlene. She conveyed her feelings and disappointment without becoming a stereotype of a woman wronged, and her interactions with both Holt and the flamboyant Horace (Karl Collins) were very natural. In the role of London-born van driver Courtney, Raphel Famotibe also stood out. His experience was different to the play’s older men and his sense of hopelessness was very well played – 70s London wasn’t great for men who had arrived from the Carribbean with big dreams, but it wasn’t great for men who were born there either.
The comic plot about the rush to complete an order is all good fun, but can rather distract from a more serious message about the expectations, perceptions and experiences of both British born and immigrant people of colour during the period. Prejudice and racism is touched upon and although there aren’t any shocking confrontations, it’s a constant undertone to the action and a barrier to Holt’s progress.
As the play draws to an end, Holt meets one final time with his client, Mr Nat (Colin Mace). An immigrant himself, Mr Nat has already been through all of the same struggles as Holt in an attempt to establish himself in the UK. Their conversation brings a change of pace and the frenetic energy is replaced by something more thoughtful. Ultimately, we are asked to consider whether financial and business success is something that is worth prioritising over people.
With a running time of two hours, Alterations does come with a little too much filler – but giving a rather light treatment to what is a more serious story than its basic plot suggests does also mean that the play has great energy, with some excellent physical performances telling us just as much as the spoken words. Once you’ve accustomed yourself to the pace and delivery, there are plenty of laughs, banter and sparring between its characters, before the play reaches a strong and thought provoking conclusion.
Alterations runs at the Lyttleton Theatre until 5th April 2025. Find out more and book tickets here.
★★★
