THEATRE REVIEW: The Color Purple, Menier Chocolate Factory

<p>Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1982 tale of disenfranchisement and abuse was never going to be an obvious choice for a musical.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thegayuk.com/ChrisBridges">by Chris Bridges</a> | 18th July 2013</p><p>★★★★</p><p></p><p></p><p>Celie is a poor black woman in the Deep South in early 20th Century America. Abused and impregnated by her father she is then separated from her beloved sister and two children and sent to be the wife of a man who treats her like a slave and something to use and abuse in the bedroom. Sounds bleak but the guts of the story is the empowerment through friendship that Celie gets from the strong women around her and the inner strength she carries with her, in spite of her struggles. </p> <p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4595765426.jpg" width="380" height="237" alt="The Color Purple | Menier Chocolate Factory" title="The Color Purple | Menier Chocolate Factory"/></p> <p></p><p>Powerful women abound in this mesmerising production at the Menier and the performances match the characters in terms of sheer breath taking power. Cynthia Erivo portrays Celie’s emotional journey with a subtle but mesmerising performance. Her co-stars, Nicola Hughes and Sophie Nomvete, bring style, slinkiness and sassiness to the stage with huge capital letter S’s. These aren’t perfomrances that you’ll forget in a hurry. </p><p></p><p>The songs are a mix of gospel, jazz and blues and are by turns comical, strangely empowering and haunting as the large cast inhabit the stark and simple set of bleached out decking which is presented in the round. </p><p></p><p>The play has minor faults and sometimes seems to miss out in capturing the full spirit of the novel, giving in to sugary sweetness on occasions but the overall feeling is a joyful and triumphant vibe which left the audience giving a long and riotous standing ovation. </p><p></p><p>Definitely recommended for a very unusual musical that is full of spirit and strong musical numbers with stunning performances. </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p></p><p>https://www.menierchocolatefactory.com/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=80A403C6-50CD-481D-BB86-B154DFFB0DE6</p><p></p><p>The Color Purple runs until 14th of September 2013</p><p></p><p> </p>