for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf reviews: a moving, stripped-back production that some critics wanted more room to breathe

“Violent, visceral and stylish, For Colored Girls is still a necessary piece of theatre.”

“Fifty years on, For Colored Girls still hits. Ntozake Shange’s 1976 choreopoem arrives at the Yard Theatre with all the love, rage, grief, humour and sisterhood that made it a landmark — and thematically, not nearly as dated as you’d expect.”

“Upon arrival, the first thing you’ll notice is that there’s nothing on stage. No elaborate set or props to hide behind. Instead, director Diane Page has the women watch one another from the edges, gather, separate and occasionally become silhouettes against the light.”

“When it clicks, it really clicks.”

“Music (by Jammz), colourful lighting and bold, patterned costumes infuse the stage with a kind of euphoric, almost celebratory energy, although it can still feel too stark at times, putting a lot of pressure on the performers to fill the space themselves.”

“It’s these moments of beauty and joy that stop the production from becoming defined by trauma.”

“The Yard reopens with a thrilling, stripped-back revival that proves bricks and mortar matter less than what happens on stage”

“It feels fitting to open with Shange’s acclaimed “choreopoem” (which combines poetry, dance and music), giving voice to the survivor-spirit of African-American women via seven characters each simply denoted by a rainbow colour.”

“Unflinchingly, the piece takes in betrayal, domestic violence, rape and slaughter.”

“The thrust is always clear: choreographed movement brings home slumping despair and anguish, but it also denotes yearning, ecstasy and solidarity; there’s a liberty that comes from describing life as you see it.”

“It’s impossible to praise one performer over the others – each has her own quality of command, but the cast (Nadine Higgin, Tatenda Matsvai, Ibilola Rossi, Cherrelle Skeete and Alex Thomas-Smith) form one tight-knit unit.”

“The scrappy Hackney Wick venue elbowed into a crowded London theatre scene in 2011, presenting innovative commissions and programming in a building that felt like Glyndebourne assembled by Wombles. Now inventively and professionally rebuilt at twice the capacity it still feels quirky, left-field and vital.”

“Somehow, Shange’s historic “choreopoem” – where the actors perform a series of monologues, witnessing and supporting each other, with interludes of music and dance - sits perfectly in the middle of it.”

“Page’s production fits the stripped-back ethos of the Yard. There’s no set, just a series of rainbow lighting states and a new soundtrack composed by Jammz.”

“The superb ensemble of five wear colour-coded costumes. Some of the soliloquies are celebrations of black female sexuality and power. Others are harrowing tales of abuse, assault, abortion. Some sound impishly personal, Shange exploring her own disappointing love affairs, or the sense of a partner oppressing her identity.”

“In some ways Shange became a victim of her own success. The rich language of self-actualisation she pioneered has been much emulated and parodied. Black, female irony, sass and sisterliness have been meme-ified into generic online shorthand. But her voice comes across here, fresh, strong and proud, in this reborn gem of a theatre in Hackney.”

"Fifty years on, Diane Page's revival is a powerful production of Ntozake Shange's choreopoem that, rather sadly, feels as contemporary as ever."

"The shifts between joy and trauma land as genuinely jarring, but that jaggedness feels true to the material - an intentional choice of form rather than a fault in the production."

"The five performers move as distinct individuals rather than a uniform ensemble, each with her own physical language, yet the effect never feels disjointed."

"Ali Hunter's lighting deserves particular mention: long shadows and silhouettes thrown against the bare brick wall do as much storytelling as the actors themselves."

"Nadine Higgin's Lady in Blue fills the stage with exuberance, her dancing radiating real command"

"What's most striking, fifty years on, is how little of it has dated. The occasional period detail, like the Lady in Brown's description of the docks, aside, the piece and its form feel every bit as forward-looking now as they must have in 1976."

“No story is oversimplified – nor, sadly, have they become any less relevant half a century on.”

“The sufferer in each poem is a Black woman living in mid-20th-century America, which, of course, brings an added pile-on of hardships, and is the unifying force behind the collection.”

“Although the play became the toast of Broadway 50 years ago, this production – directed by Diane Page and running at the newly reopened Yard Theatre – is the play’s first significant London outing.”

“Collectively, the poems are beautifully solicitous.”

“Each voice is a plea to be heard, and a cry of resistance refusing to be stifled. The real pleasure is in hearing Shange’s sharply observed words, which flow like blood from a fresh wound, unstoppable and stinging.”

“The ensemble infuses their monologues with passionate defiance, but Page’s production sometimes feels rushed and lacking in clarity.”

“The bareness of the stage creates a rawness, exposing the women as vulnerable and oppressed by their situation, but a little more could be done to help guide us.”

“Under Ingrid Mackinnon and Rudzani Moleya’s choreography, to a hypnotic soundtrack by grime artist Jammz, the ensemble comes together at times, expanding and contracting like a set of lungs. And in these moments, we glimpse the necessity of a sisterhood – an invisible cradle and listening ear, present even in the absence of a rainbow of hope.”

“Collectively, the poems form a rich panorama: tales of domestic abuse bound up in a threatening marriage proposal; infidelity that brings a devastating HIV diagnosis; and an eight-year-old girl who is inspired by the Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture. In so many ways, they could have been written yesterday.”

“Shange’s lyrical writing mixes their pain with surges of joy, as each woman takes her turn in the spotlight while the others watch on in witness and support.”

“With repeated refrains and sections that feel like a chorus, the play becomes both a relief and a release.”

“Page’s production is stark, with the Ladies’ voices left to drive its emotional highs and lows. It could hang a little longer in each section; before we have time to fully absorb its effects, we’re already whizzing on to the next. We need a breath to catch up.”

“Supported by a mesmeric new soundtrack by Jammz and choreography by Ingrid Mackinnon, the piece beats with raw feeling. The Ladies break into soulful, almost spiritual moments of dance, as Ali Hunter’s lighting design sends rainbows pulsing across the stage floor.”

“The cast perform as though Shange’s words are being drawn from somewhere deep within them. In their moments of togetherness, the production reaches its most arresting force.”

“Shange’s work explores the experiences of Black women through a powerful blend of poetry, music and movement, creating a piece that remains as relevant today as it was half a century ago.”

“Ali Hunter’s lighting design bathes the stage in colourful, vibrant hues, constantly shifting between the women, cleverly evoking the imagery of the rainbow.”

“The production is further enhanced by Jammz’s original music. The modern electronic and garage-style beats accompany several of the dances, adding a contemporary feel to the piece, as well as bringing a fresh perspective to Shange’s text. The contemporary sound, however, creates uncertainty about when and where this production takes place.”

“Ingrid Mackinnon’s choreography throughout the show is brilliant and beautifully synchronised, with the women moving as one before breaking apart into individual stories. Whether huddling together, embracing or supporting one another physically, the cast embody the emotional bonds between the women.”

“The stripped-back staging places the focus entirely on the performers, their words and movements. This minimalism creates an intimacy that suits the personal nature of Shange’s material, allowing moments of vulnerability to resonate without distraction.”

“With seven characters played by only five performers, there needed to be a clearer distinction in the multi-rolling – rather than holding/wearing a colour-coded costume piece to signal character changes.”

“The production also struggles to capture the full force of Shange’s revolutionary text. Her writing is emotionally charged, and radical, yet some lines come across as spoken from a script rather than drawn from lived experience.”

“Swift transitions between stories leave little room for us to process what we have just heard. Given the sensitivity of the themes being explored, space to breathe could be extremely beneficial.”