STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey review

“Thorough and taut”

ReviewsApr 19, 2023by JN BenjaminInstitute of Contemporary Arts, London

Bradley Charles in STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Photo: Ali Wright

Debra Michaels in STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Photo: Ali Wright

Debra Michaels in STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Photo: Ali WrightDebra Michaels in STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Photo: Ali WrightBradley Charles in STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Photo: Ali WrightDebra Michaels in STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Photo: Ali Wright

A multilayered lesson in untaught space history and the politics of female pleasure

In Mojisola Adebayo’s new play, Mrs (Debra Michaels) is an octogenarian widow who lives in an empty nest. Her life is mostly quiet except for the sounds of her DJ son’s radio show, which continuously plays in the background, providing a soundtrack to Gail Babb and S Ama Wray’s production (the excellent mixes are by music director Debo Adebayo). Her son makes an appearance at Christmas; otherwise, all she has for company is an urn that contains the remains of her late husband, which she sometimes feeds to her pet fish Cat. What Mrs really, really wants in life is to have an orgasm. Despite being married for about half a century she’s never had one.

There is a whole world in Michaels’ energetic performance. She plays not just the lead character Mrs, but also her husband Mr, as well as countless acquaintances and friends. Her repertoire of accents spans the length and breadth of the UK, and crosses oceans in both directions to land in Africa and the Caribbean. The characters we meet through her include judgemental Irish church elders, Jamaican mothers and a chain-smoking lesbian seductress from Manchester. Each character has a part to play in telling the story of her pursuit of sexual pleasure.

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Related to this Review

Family Tree review

STARS is one of two works by Mojisola Adebayo on tour in the UK at the moment. The other – Family Tree, an Actors Touring Company production – is running at Brixton House before heading north. Both scripts carry Adebayo’s inquisitive signature style, but where Family Tree feels a bit rough in the middle, this piece is thorough and taut. Adebayo notes in the playtext’s foreword that it has been in development since 2016 and that investment has paid off.

Miriam Nabarro’s set is all curved lines and futuristic strips of lighting. Her design is supported by a heavyweight cohort of collaborators including animator Candice Purwin, whose sumptuous illustrations feature as projections on a curved backdrop in a series of video vignettes by Gillian Tan. Stephen Lloyd’s creative captions enliven the accessibility that is embedded in the performance.

The play is busy with multiple layers of consciousness. It’s an education in linguistics and in untaught space history, sprinkled with gentle rhythmic poetry and cute sci-fi references from Star Trek to Spielberg. At the same time, it’s hefty in its subject matter, exploring themes such as genital mutilation, what it means to be intersex, and the politics of female pleasure. Co-directors Babb and Wray hold the writing with intelligence and care. In the end, Mrs does find her big O. Her climax ripples through the crowd, charging the space with infectious energy as the performance transforms into a club night, with the audience encouraged to stay and dance the night away.

Production Details

Production nameSTARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey

VenueInstitute of Contemporary Arts

LocationLondon

Starts13/04/2023

Ends04/05/2023

Press night18/04/2023

Running time1hr 30mins

AuthorMojisola Adebayo

DirectorGail Babb, S Ama Wray

Musical directorDebo Adebayo

Set designerMiriam Nabarro