Review: TAMBO & BONES, Stratford East

“All I wanted was a nap”

Tambo and Bones are trapped in a minstrel show. Tambo and Bones have taken the world by storm with their rap music. Tambo and Bones are the leaders of the revolution. Are Tambo and Bones real? Or are they simply characters in a play? Written by Dave Harris and directed by Matthew Xia, Tambo & Bones asks an impossible question to its audience - how do you know what’s real?

The two titular characters of Tambo (Clifford Samuel) and Bones (Daniel Ward) are introduced as being a part of a minstrel show, with Tambo trying to find the perfect place to take a nap and Bones attempting to win over the audience so they will give him quarters. From the very beginning, both characters are aware that they are performing to an audience, though it takes some time for them to realise just how trapped in a narrative they truly are. This leads to a confrontation between the two men and the playwright, a puppet (designed by Hugh Purves) in the front row made to look like Harris. Once Tambo and Bones have control of the narrative, what are they going to do?

It may not have been an obvious choice to the audience, but Tambo and Bones continue to perform, this time in the modern era, rapping as a DJ plays music (Excalibah* is credited with Hip-Hop Beats) in the background. While Bones is still focused on the money, having transformed “dimes to dollars,” it seems that Tambo has woken up from the nap he dreamed up and is determined to change the world, even if it means giving up the fame and glory the duo’s music career has bought them. The lyrics are quick but impactful and the lights (Ciarán Cunningham) are blinding, making the audience feel as though there is truly a concert taking place on stage.

The final act brings audiences 400 years into the future, in a world that has been impacted by Tambo and Bones in more ways than one can imagine. This is the barest set (designed by Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and ULTZ), with only a white box and two microphones with stands for the two performer’s scripts. In order to help us understand what we have missed, two robots (Jaron Lammens and Dru Cripps) reenact what happened between the two men as two actors, Clifford and Daniel, narrate. There are twists and turns throughout the act that have not only the audience but those on stage questioning their reality. 

The dynamic created by Samuel and Ward begins as the classic comedic pairing of the straight man (Tambo) versus the funny man (Bones) but develops into something much deeper, made possible through the brilliant acting skills of the duo. The topic of race, especially being a black person in America, does not come without its trauma, and I applaud the creative team for having a Production Dramatherapist, Wabriya King. Credit must also be given to Lammens and Cripps for their performances as robots - without going into too many spoilers, some of their actions had the audience gasping in shock!

I would argue that having an interval takes away from this play, allowing audiences to escape in a way the characters cannot and letting them be free of the confrontational energy they have had to face. There is also one unfortunate section that uses poor animation to depict a news broadcast, which would have worked much better as simply a voiceover, especially as it pulls the audience straight out of the play. There is also a confusing and distracting choice to have the President of the United States be a strange mix of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The scene would have been better as brief voice-overs, like the ones during an awkwardly long scene change. 

At the end of the play, audience members are invited to sit and reflect in the theatre for fifteen minutes, a concept that has become popular over the years for works that deal with difficult topics. I would highly recommend taking advantage of this opportunity, as the play as a whole is intense and it allows one the chance to really take in what they have just witnessed and the impact it has had on them. 

Tambo & Bones is a fascinating piece of theatre that will have audiences questioning the lines between performance and reality long after the play has ended. Samuel and Ward give truly powerful performances that will remain in the minds of audiences for months to come. 

Tambo & Bones runs until 10 May at Stratford East.