Rockets and Blue Lights - REX Manchester/ Dorfman NT

[BurlyBeaR]

 'I am the slave ship. Wrecked. Empty. I am a shark, livid with the desire for blood. I am the sea, boiling with fury.'

Amid the gloom of Victorian England, Thomas, a black sailor prepares to take one last voyage, while an ageing Turner seeks artistic inspiration in a half-remembered story.

In 21st Century London, an actress finds herself handcuffed by history – two centuries after abolitionists won her ancestors their freedom.

Winner of the 2018 Alfred Fagon Award, Winsome Pinnock’s astonishing new play retells British history through the prism of the slave trade. Fusing fact with fiction, past with present, the powerfully personal with the fiercely political, this epic production asks who owns our past - and who has the right to tell its stories?

13th March - 4th April

[BurlyBeaR]

We’re thrilled that our production of Winsome Pinnock’s powerful new play ROCKETS AND BLUE LIGHTS will be aired on BBC Radio as part of the LOCKDOWN Theatre Festival launch weekend on 13 & 14 June.

LOCKDOWN Theatre Festival was created by actor Bertie Carvel in response to the closure of theatres amid the coronavirus crisis. Four productions from theatres across the country will be broadcast as part of BBC Arts’ Culture in Quarantine initiative.

Carvel said:

“I want to create a cultural snapshot for posterity, because who knows what the future holds? Theatres up and down the country are facing an existential crisis. If I can find a way, every single production that has been forced off the stage because of the lockdown will find a new platform at this festival!”

[cavocado]

I saw this last week and I was really impressed. It was absorbing, with some excellent performances. Given the subject matter, some parts were quite harrowing, but there was also lightness and humour, and the music was very good too.

There were a lot of characters and different strands to the narrative and I loved its scale and ambition. I assume the structure was making the point about history/politics/life being messy and overlapping, and we can’t get away from the ramifications of what our ancestors did. Occasionally I felt it was trying to say too much, so that some characters didn’t quite find their voices, or I wanted more of their stories.

I don’t want to make it sound worthy and hard work, because it really wasn’t. I came out of the theatre feeling like I’d had a good evening, watching an interesting, well-acted, well-written play with characters I cared about. I think it’s also a play that will stick with me for a long time and make me think about how I see the world.

The queuing and entry were more straightforward than for After Life, but there were some issues with enforcing mask wearing at the performance I went to, with a few people getting annoyed/stressed/upset, and a poor usher trying hard to cope with all the complaints.

It’s easily the best thing I’ve seen at the NT since it reopened.

[tmesis]

I found this tedious, confused and very worthy; continuing the National's run of poor offerings pre lockdown. Seeing The Normal Heart tonight so let's see if that restores my faith in the place.

[Dave B]

I saw this last night and enjoyed it, a good part due to the performances and the extra music. I thought Karl Collins and Rochelle Rose in particular were very good. I did think it was a little all over the place and as someone who isn't British and so didn't have any mention of Britain's involvement in slavery or Turner etc in my education ... it felt like perhaps a little more explanations or even a little directed reading beforehand would have been beneficial - of course that won't apply to everyone!


I also think it's the best thing the NT have done since they re-opened but I wasn't at all taken with Under Milk Wood or Paradise so that one is a low bar! We are seeing East is East & The Normal Heart next week so hopefully they'll both be great

Theatre was reasonably full, a few empty seats dotted around and mask wearing wasn't bad.

[dlevi]

I saw this on Saturday afternoon and pretty much agree with Cavacado . I think the reason it hasn't been talked about as much as it could be is the different plot strands leaving the audience not really sure what was the story Ms Pinnock wanted to tell. I know she was trying to give context to both the past and the present, and I admire that, but I felt as if some of those strands got lost along the way. And while it was a very "worthy" play , it was also seriously entertaining and wonderfully performed. I wish more people had seen it.