Theatre review: Nggrfg, theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39b), Edinburgh

By SALLY STOTT
Published on 06/08/2012 16:54

THE lady tearing the tickets informs me that the correct way to pronounce the title is letter by letter – which is more 
time-consuming, but useful if you don’t want to sound like a racist homophobe.

Nggrfg

theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39b)

Rating: ***

The show itself is much less confrontational, but quietly challenging – an honest account by Berend McKenzie of a black gay actor’s early experiences of prejudice while growing up in Canada, and how such attitudes have followed him (albeit in new manifestations) into adulthood.

Funny, touching and heartfelt vignettes dip in and out of the life of the actor, called Buddy, giving the piece a fragmented feel, but providing little windows of insight into a warm and likable character.

A particularly poignant scene sees an episode of an all-black TV show, which young Buddy enjoys with his father, turned into ammunition for racist school bullies, and a beloved skipping rope sullied by connotations of the slave trade. A brief portrayal of adult Buddy, arrested for stealing, lacks such clarity, as it’s unclear why or how he’s ended up here.

Less of a patchwork story would undoubtedly provide more focus, but the individual sequences have verve and heart that make them engaging in themselves.

• Until 18 August. Today 7:20pm.