Made You Look- fresh perspectives
Made You Look, Ty'rone Haughton's one-man poetry show, at The Belgrade Theatre for one night only 17 October. You can see him at the Birmingham Rep Theatre on 21 and 22 October.
Review by Alison Manning.
Made You Look is a powerful one-man poetry show written and performed by poet Ty’rone Haughton, produced and directed by Finley-Rose Townsend. It deals with difficult issues on multiple levels, such as racism, abuse, masculinity and what it means to be an immigrant in contemporary Britain.
Ty’rone doesn’t shy away from dealing with challenging subjects, shedding fresh light on them through the poetic form and making us see them in a new way, such as the media portrayal of minorities, institutional racism, police barbarity, freedom, violence, masculinity and self-image.
There is a lot to absorb and explore, with extra depths and insights coming to light the more you reflect on his carefully-delivered words. An example of this is the section which features an analogy of growing bonsai trees and the luxury of doing this; on the surface this could be seen as a nurturing act encouraging growth, but in reality this is a horticultural act of control, isolation, restriction and repression.
Subject matter aside, there is power in the very rhythms of Ty’rone’s words with rhymes and half rhymes, abounding with assonance and alliteration, this gives a real flow to the show and highlights hard-hitting juxtapositions, such as some people’s suggestion that black blood is good for “monkeys not monarchies”.
Ty’rone’s movements are fluid too, his actions reflecting and reinforcing his words. This is perhaps most striking when he lifts part of the set onto his shoulder, coffin-like, and carries it slowly in a funereal manner around and to the front of the stage where he lays it on the ground and scatters pieces of paper into it which feature images of people, presumably victims of racist abuse.
Ty’rone delivers his words well, all entirely from memory. He varies in volume and pace, from soft and thoughtful to fast and furious, almost too fast at times to take in, which perhaps is the point. He also uses well-timed pauses. At one point he hangs up his suit jacket and then directly addresses it as an embodiment of the prime minister and the government, debating their Rwandan policy on immigration. Occasionally Ty’rone aims a line directly towards particular members of the audience, connecting so strongly as to almost elicit a response.
Sound and lighting are used to great effect, often in conjunction with movement. Sudden sound effects are used to reinforce a point, such as when Ty’rone mentions black blood and symbolises the spilling of it by slashing his hand across his wrists with a sudden jarring metallic noise underlining the horror of this. Lighting changes are sometimes subtle and sometimes dramatic, often cleverly signifying a change in subject matter or a move to a new section.
The show is followed by a discussion between Ty’rone and the audience, with the opportunity not only to ask questions but to have meaningful conversations about the issues raised through the poetry performance. Ty’rone is clear that he sees his poetry not just as art, or a trauma-download, but as a means of evoking a response and starting a dialogue.
The set consists of shelves, boxes, wire grids, images and words, and doubles as a post-show exhibition, after the discussion, where the audience is invited to come on the stage and look and touch and see pictures of those affected by the issues touched on in the show. Part of the set is flipped round part way through the performance to reveal a mirror. This partly reflects the themes of self-image, how people are marked by past trauma, how we view ourselves and how others see us, but also, as it faces the audience head on, makes us look at ourselves afresh, challenging us to see things in a new perspective. This change of standpoint is also mirrored after the show where the audience has the fascinating opportunity to go on stage, view the set-turned-exhibition and literally see things from a whole new angle.
More opportunities to see Made You Look at the Birmingham Rep Theatre on 21 and 22 October. Find out more here: www.thaughtonpoetry.com/webinar-registration
Find more shows at the Belgrade Theatre here: www.belgrade.co.uk/whats-on/
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