Williams likes to tell stories that discuss and dissect identity in The Fellowship it is the identity of children of the Windrush generation, through the eyes of sisters Dawn (Cherrelle Skeete) and Marcia Adams (Suzette Llewellyn) who grew up in 1980s London and were activists on the front line against the multiple injustices of that time. Skeete had just taken over from Lucy Vandi to play Dawn and sometimes script in hand she would read her lines but with the power of her performance the script became a prop and was not a distraction at all. Skeete’s Dawn the younger of the two sisters is of the hook, all guns blazing and flying the flag for Black unity, and does not welcome her son Jermaine’s white girlfriend (Rosie Day). Marcia on the other hand is more refined and is in a world where she is constantly the only Black woman in the room, working as a lawyer, having to justify her presence and wanting to leave behind Marcia from Craven Green. The sisters now come together with very little in common beyond family…
Dawn struggles to care for their dying mother, whilst her one surviving son is drifting away from her. Tony (Trevor Laird) is the mild mannered easy going partner of Dawn who tries to weather all the storms that Dawns brings, being a roadie helps. Meanwhile, high-flying lawyer Marcia’s affair with a married politician might be about to explode and destroy her career. Randell’s The Fellowship brings the story to life cleverly unpacking the layers, deportation, sexual abuse, racism and the everyday struggles and issues any family can have. With skilled actors, perhaps a minimalist set and strong writing The Fellowship is worth seeing like in real life there are comedic moments like Dawn’s secret love for “white music”.
The world premiere of Roy Williams’ The Fellowship, directed by Paulette Randall, is, by turns, an electrifying, hilarious, gripping tale set in modern Britain
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