G Reviews at the Royal Court

"A trio of Black teens live in fear of a supernatural entity in this striking urban gothic from rising star Tife Kusoro"

"What Monique Touko’s production has going for it in spades is atmosphere; what Kusoro’s text has is imagination. ‘G’ is suffused with a cold inner city dread, the inevitable low level paranoia of being a Black teen in London bleeding into something more supernaturally ominous."

"Playing out in short, often highly cryptic scenes that unfold in non-linear order, it’s not always easy to stay one hundred percent on top of what’s going on in ‘G’ but the atmosphere is exquisite: as with Punchdrunk’s superb ‘Viola’s Room’, there is a sequence set to Massive Attack’s dark dub monolith ‘Angel’ that will melt your brain."

"It has its faults. The ending feels frivolous and tossed off. And a strand about Joy’s gender identity feels like it needs more time devoted to it to really come to anything. But it is, nonetheless, a thrillingly different play - it’s Kusoro’s business what she does next, but if she wants to return to this haunted world, I’m all for it."

"Gothic dread meets goofy comedy in a thrilling coming-of-age story"

"Inspired by urban legends and Afro-surrealism, Tife Kusoro’s spooky tale of three schoolchildren pursued by unknown forces is an audacious original"

"It’s not easy to do horror on stage and the Thriller-style pop video aesthetic to the opening of Tife Kusoro’s play looks as if it might quickly turn into schlock. Instead, it rallies its scary movie tropes to create its own intelligent urban gothic."

"Said to be inspired by urban legends and Afro-surrealism, the play also seems to be influenced by Daniel Kaluuya (a Royal Court alumnus), who is invoked early on."

"Under the direction of Monique Touko, non-realism is mixed into ordinary life in audacious ways, with the same high-wire bravura as Jasmine Lee-Jones’s Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner"

"Kusoro won the George Devine award for promising writers, and you can see why: this is a complicated, ambitious and thrilling ride of a play."

"Reality is up for debate in Tife Kusoro’s rapid-fire new drama"

"G, directed with fluorescent dynamism by Monique Touko, is an encouraging sign that David Byrne’s Royal Court will live up to the theatre’s bold tradition"

"Tife Kusoro’s fascinating new play thrills and tantalises from the opening moments."

"Not since Jasmine Lee-Jones’s Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner in 2019 have I felt such a mixture of excitement and bewilderment. Action and speech is rapid, though there is a small sag in the middle, and there were several moments when I could have done with more signposts. Yet I was swept through miasmas of doubt by the talented conviction of actors"

"Packed with interesting, risky ideas"

"A trio of strong, believable performances provide a core of realism in this surreal, modern-day ghost story"

"Tife Kusoro’s contemporary ghost story subverts the familiar structure of urban legends to explore important issues of intrusive surveillance and systemic racism."

"It’s a fun premise and, although the play loses momentum during a baggy middle section relayed in fragmented scenes to contrive a twist, Kusoro makes lucid points about the unfair pressures experienced by young Black men."

"Director Monique Touko, who brought a haunting, humid intensity to southern gothic drama Wedding Band at London’s Lyric Hammersmith earlier this year, pulls off a similar balancing act between grounded realism and an eerie, heightened tone here."

"Although the story is neither as tightly written or as plausibly perilous as it could be, the production is packed with interesting, risky ideas. Visually striking and unapologetically strange, the piece takes an inventive approach to discussing its timely themes."

"Supernatural chiller tackles race and teenage life"

"Tife Kusoro’s play draws on fantasy and horror movies as it explores life today for young Black people"

"All of this is explored through a playful and fast-moving script that zips about unpredictably."

"Sometimes the switchbacks are so snappy that the play becomes confusing. But director Monique Touko and her super cast keep you transfixed, juggling the mix of comedy and dread. In the end, it’s a piece about friendship, about being 16 and Black, and about being understood — all expressed with an originality that marks Kusoro out as a writer to watch."