A review by marshamudpuddle
Barber Shop Chronicles by Inua Ellams

3.5

It's not quite the same reading a play as seeing it performed, but I enjoyed this nonetheless. It is a series of overlapping conversations taking place in barbershops around the world. The same themes, ideas, and even jokes reappear across continents; there are also a few links between characters. Together, the conversations interweave to form a meditation on Black identity. A barbershop is a great setting for a drama, a bit like a dinner table in that it allows for lots of different things to play out: meandering conversations, different power dynamics and social etiquettes, conflicts and resolutions. It is also a particularly important space for Black people, as the notes explicate well (see also the Pixar film Soul, where there is a great scene in a barbershop that would fit right in here!)