Shifters
By Benedict Lombe, directed by Lynette Linton
Duke of York’s Theatre, London: 12 August – 12 October 2024
Review by Trish Cooke
Benedict Lombe’s Shifters is one of the few plays by black female writers to have been staged in London’s West End. Others have been Natasha Gordon’s Nine Night (Trafalgar Studios, 2018) and Yasmin Joseph’s J’Ouvert (Harold Pinter Theatre, 2021). Before its transfer to the Duke of York’s Theatre, Shifters began life as Lombe’s second commission at the Bush Theatre, directed by Artistic Director Lynette Linton who, after a successful tenure, will be stepping down from her role in Spring 2025. Linton’s future projects include directing Alterations by Michael Abbensetts, at the National Theatre, (20 February to 5 April 2025) for which I am writing additional material.
Lynette Linton’s production of Shifters tells a tender love story. The play opens with Dre (played by Tosin Cole) at his grandmother’s funeral party, eyes on the door hoping Des (played by Heather Agyepong), an old friend, will attend. When Des finally does arrive, after flight delays, the exchange between them is awkward, but intoxicating. Dre is working-class British Nigerian and Des is middle-class British Congolese. Friends who have not seen each other for eight years, it is clear from the start – through their loaded greeting of Hi – that there is a lot to unravel. The banter between Dre and Des is electrifying with playful and highly entertaining exchanges. The chemistry oozes between them as shared memories, revealed through flashbacks, show Des and Dre’s first meeting in their school debating society and in subsequent encounters.
Alex Berry’s sparse set design, with overhead shards of light and a minimalist style using black boxes to house the props, ensures the focus is primarily on the dynamic between the characters. The funeral setting reminded me of Now I See (2024), written and directed by Lanre Malaolu at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, which also used a seamless weaving in and out of memories through flashback, but the similarity ends there. Des and Dre are not brothers mourning the loss of their sibling – these two are mourning the loss of a love that did not materialise fully.
Watching the play in an audience of mainly young people, many of them in couples, rooting for the duo on stage, it was easy for me to get immersed in the will they won’t they intensity of Des and Dre’s relationship. Every sigh from the young woman behind me reminded me of how delicate the pangs of first love are. Her frequent gasps of Oh no! further intensified what was happening on stage, and a huge Wow! at a climactic moment involving a kiss, spoke volumes. The audience closely followed the couple on their tumultuous journey, watching how eight years apart had impacted on their relationship. During that eight-year break, Dre and Des have moved on. Des is now engaged to be married, and Dre has a son. The play raises questions about whether or not we can go back to unfinished business, pick up from where we left off after time apart. And if we do, what impact do these breaks have on the relationships we kindle?