The joyous thing about Kwame's dramatic writing is the minutely observed detail, a delicious comedic warmth and the way he tempers serious political points with gentle amusement. In my book, it is a much more effective way of delivering a message than hitting the audience over the head with doctrine.
Roy Williams analyses the society in this particular Category B prison with shifts in the power base for both prisoners and warders. When visiting prisons Williams was struck by the almost fatherly approach of some of the warders to the prisoners. His play looks at the interrelating power structures within the men and the prison officers in this community which is also a prison.
Over the past fifteen years, Northern Broadsides have quietly carved out an impressive reputation for earthy, grounded productions which feature clarity, energy and very often Northern accents. Their approach is not only no nonsense, but also forbids frippery, clutter and theatrical snobbery. It was therefore quite surprising that they chose a celebrity comedian, who had never acted on stage before and whose opinion of the bard was largely a leftover of schoolboy antipathy, to tackle one of Shakespeare's great tragic heroes. However, unconstrained by thoughts of elitism, they elected Lenny Henry, the well-loved and self-styled "Jamaican from Dudley" to metamorphose himself into the Moor of Venice.