Death of England: Delroy at National Theatre, London – review round-up

Death of England: Delroy – play

In Death of England, Rafe Spall’s Michael was sent spiralling into existential angst after the death of his racist, Brexit-loving dad. In Death of England: Delroy, we see the eponymous protagonist – a Boris-voting bailiff – wrongfully arrested while his wife is giving birth.

It is, says Sarah Crompton (WhatsOnStage, ★★★★), “a swaggering, sensitive and vital portrayal of what it feels like to be a working-class black man in Britain today, which manages to pack considerable complexity into its 90-minute running time.”

Most critics concur, and most point out the relevance of the piece in light of this year’s Black Lives Matter protests. Dave Fargnoli (The Stage, ★★★★) calls it “a timely articulation of an ongoing struggle for love, dignity and acceptance”, while Marianka Swain (iNews, ★★★★) labels it a “blazing examination of cultural identity” and “clearly the play for the moment”.

Others, though, aren’t quite so sure. Clive Davis (the Times, ★★★) reckons “the narrative meanders” and feels “as if Dyer and Williams are pinning their own progressive opinions on their character”, while Matt Wolf (The Arts Desk, ★★★★) opines that “at times, you feel the writing is trying a little too conscientiously to cover every possible topic out there, as if Delroy Francis Tomlin were a walking compendium of the times he inhabits, rather than an individual.”

Death of England: Delroy – performance

Whatever the critics think of the play, though, they are almost unanimous in praising Balogun’s performance. Since graduating from RADA in 2017, Balogun has appeared as Macduff in Chichester, and in UK tours of People, Places and Things and Barber Shop Chronicles. This, though, is his biggest role to date, and the critics think he crushes it.

He supplies “firecracker energy and a blend of charm and rage” according to Nick Curtis (Evening Standard, ★★★★), while for Crompton, he “makes the part fit him like a glove, catching all the character’s lively, boisterous energy, his anger and above all his pain”.

“He is superb at suggesting his barely suppressed inner turmoil,” agrees Andrzej Lukowski (Time Out, ★★★★), while Dominic Cavendish (Telegraph, ★★★★) admires the “raw potency” of his performances, and calls it “a blazing powerhouse of a turn”.

Only Davis disagrees. He says that “while Balogun gives a commanding physical performance”, his “overly brisk delivery didn’t give the words all the weight they need”. There were passages, he complains, when “it wasn’t possible to catch the twists and turns of his confessional.”

Most reviewers reckon he gives a rollickingly good performance, though. They agree with Swain, who calls it “an electrifying display” that’s “funny, charming and confrontational”.

Death of England: Delroy – production

The play reunites the creative team behind its predecessor in February. Clint Dyer directs, as well as co-writing, while Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and Ultz provide the design. Sound designers Benjamin Grant and Pete Malkin and lighting designer Jackie Shemesh make up the rest of the band, back together after a socially distanced summer. And the production they have crafted is commended by the critics.

“Greenaway-Bailey and Ultz’s stage design was a highlight of [Death of England] and it is again: simple yet sensational with a few mischievous surprises,” says Arifa Akbar (Guardian, ★★★★). “Designed, like the last, in the shape of a cross, it appears bare until props are pulled out from hidden pockets.”

“A football bounces forlornly down the auditorium steps to announce Michael’s arrival,” describes Fargnoli. “A massive gold bust of Nefertiti descends from above to represent Delroy’s mother, while police officers in the form of CCTV cameras crowd in aggressively.”

Coupled with Malkin and Grant’s “cacophonic, jarringly overlapping” sound, and Shemesh’s “bold”, “crisply delineated” lighting, the overall effect is to “underscore the disproportionate force that a systemically racist state can bring to bear upon its citizens”, concludes Fargnoli.

And what about the reconfigured auditorium? Smaller, and now in-the-round, it “feels full of life” according to Crompton, and “more intimate” according to Swain, even if it does make it slightly “harder to hear”.

Nevertheless, the whole thing is “a rollercoaster ride of a play, directed by Dyer at terrific pace and wittily enlivened by Shemesh’s staccato lighting and the hidden surprises of Ultz’s set,” says Lukowski. It’s “heart-in-the-mouth” entertainment.

Death of England: Delroy – Is it any good?

Yes, thankfully. It would have been awkward if the National Theatre’s grand, if temporary, reopening had come with a critical mauling, but Death of England: Delroy is definitely not a dud. Four stars from the Guardian, The Stage, The Telegraph, the Evening Standard and elsewhere point to a classy, cut-short curtain-raiser.

Willams and Dyer’s play has a different focus to its prequel, but it asks equally important questions about identity in England. Dyer’s direction and his creative team’s design effectively underscore the action. And Balogun gives a barnstorming, nail-biting, name-making performance. Fingers crossed it lives on after lockdown.