EDINBURGH 2026 Review: IN THE BLACK, Underbelly Bristo Square
Running until 31 August.
This show was still in previews when reviewed
In prison, a young Black man tells his story. Good with numbers, charismatic, and highly driven by ambition, he details how he went from being a scrappy kid with a demanding father in New York City to earning a $1 million bonus before landing himself in prison. Quaz Degraft’s bleak view of family expectations and social hunger keeps twisting and turning. The script is a sharp and introspective narration, flowing from comedy to satire with ease. Degraft’s performance follows suit with spotless shifts in tone and body language that allow him to slip in and out of his collection of characters with clarity.
As we take the panoramic route to get to the reason he found himself behind bars, the play throws a lot at the audience. Racism, misogyny, hate crimes, generational divide, sexual harassment, and more poignant points of discourse pepper his monologue. Every idea bears weight and has a direct consequence in the narrative. There’s a lot at stake and, at times, it may come off as a slight overkill to want to include so many social issues at once. Degraft approaches each topic gracefully, slowly building his argument with precision, single-handedly avoiding any over-explanation.
He doesn’t linger, opting to trust his public to make the necessary connections. It’s up to them to fill in the blanks in the subtext and figure out why certain plot points are relevant to the final thesis. It’s a necessary gamble, and one that could go either way for the piece. On one side, this speedy run-through of everything that’s bad in a capitalistic society is shackled by its own runtime; on the other, we could say Degraft simply decided not to spoon-feed his public. Regardless, In The Black is a great show. If nothing else , it spotlights how excellent and versatile an actor Degraft is.
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