MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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J'Ouvert, Harold Pinter Theatre London
The Notting Hill Carnival's been cancelled but the exhilarating J'Ouvert is a pretty good alternative
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JUST hours after the 2019 election results were announced, Michael Gove made a vitriolic boast that “both the Durham Miners’ Gala and the Notting Hill Carnival will take place in seats held by Conservative MPs.” That remark reflects the contempt that the Tories have for these two unique festivals of resistance and their deep-rooted political significance.
A telling riposte is Yasmin Joseph’s J’Ouvert and its breakneck excursion around Carnival and boy, does it do it well.
We’re led around the sweaty Notting Hill streets by twenty-something best friends and life-long Carnival goers Jade (Sapphire Joy) and Nadine (Gabrielle Brooks). Looking resplendent in carnival costume and “worshipping at the altar of soca music” they run the full gamut of all the highs and lows a Carnival Monday has to offer.
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