Review – Josephine And I – Cush Jumbo [Bush Theatre]

The wonderful thing about London [and the UK in general] is that you can find talent lurking in every corner. There is something for everyone. You just have to find it. The Bush Theatre in Shepherds Bush is one of the smaller theatres in London that showcases and supports such talent. Josephine and I [written and performed by Cush Jumbo] yet again proves that.

Based on the life of the legendary Josephine Baker, the one woman show moves between two time frames. The life of Baker, and that of a modern day struggling actress [loosely based on Jumbo’s own life] This is 90 minutes of thought provoking and funny commentary, brilliant scriptwriting, and human struggle. Olivier nominated Jumbo knows Baker well, and brings to life some of her finest moments. Although Baker is a historical icon with many strings to her bow, people tend to focus on her infamous ‘banana dance’ which thankfully is absent from this performance. What is more notable is her struggle as a black woman in the 1900’s and her triumph as a performer. She didn’t just break glass ceilings, she punched through them. The play doesn’t just focus on her career, but her personal upheavals, her many marriages, her inability to bear children, her unwavering optimism in the face of struggle, and her political activism [she was also a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War, and was the only woman speaker at Martin Luther King’s March on Washington in 1963] I did think it was a slight shame the request of Dr King’s wife for Baker to take over from him after his death was not addressed, but this is just an afterthought.

Jumbo brings all this beautifully to life. There was a comment from a certain newspaper [I’ll let you guess which one!] that there was not enough Josephine in the performance and too much ‘I’. I could not disagree more! The switches between lives and time periods were perfectly executed, never did I feel as if they were forced in any way, and such was the vibrancy of Jumbo’s performance that the audience were mesmerised for the full ninety minutes [there is no intermission] To bring such a complex character as Baker to life is no mean feat, and at only twenty seven years old, the fact that Jumbo wrote and performed her debut play is quite astonishing. The parallel between the two women are sensitively managed – Jumbo actually quoting an utterly vile and racist comment she received LAST YEAR, under a review of her performance at the Donmar Theatre. Times, they may have changed, but obviously not enough. With the ability to act, write, sing and dance, Jumbo has an amazing career ahead of her. This is a blinding debut that deserves to be seen by a larger audience. Although it very much suits the intimacy of The Bush Theatre and the cabaret bar style set [which also included the lovely touch of paper fans to keep the audience cool on a very warm summer’s night] I hope it is taken to the West End. This is a play that needs to be seen and a talent that needs to be nurtured. Josephine Baker & Cush Jumbo, we salute you.

Josephine and I can be seen at The Bush Theatre until the 17th August.
http://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/production/josephine_i_/
https://twitter.com/CushJumbo