Typical – Soho Theatre on Demand

Review of Typical from Soho Theatre on Demand and Nouveau Riche. A powerful work with a relentless energy, and huge relevance to the current moment.
(lead photograph: Aly Wright)

Typical – An Incredibly Relevant Story For Right Now

Not too long after I watched Hymn, I am back with another review of an online theatre offering. This time it is Typical, available from Soho Theatre on Demand until 31 March. Typical is a work by Ryan Calais Cameron, first staged at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 with a previous run at the Soho Theatre. It is a one man show, with Richard Blackwood reprising his role. While his character is technically unnamed, the play is based on the events surrounding the death of Christopher Adler.

For those who aren’t familiar with him (and I will admit I had to do some background reading), Adler, an ex-paratrooper and Falklands veteran, died in police custody in April 1998. There are a whole series of injustices which the play doesn’t delve into and which unfolded over many years; what Typical focuses on instead is this Adler-based character during his last few hours. This allows the viewer to see beyond the headlines to empathise with the man behind them. Watching Typical felt particularly relevant as we follow the jury selection process for the trial of Derek Chauvin. In fact, a point very powerfully made in this play is just how often and how tragically history has repeated itself. Adler may have lost his life in 1998, but sadly his was far from the last unnecessary death of a person of colour after police intervention.

Tension Which Starts High and Keeps Climbing

Typical starts simply enough. Blackwood wakes up, and gets ready for a night out. He keeps up a constant inner monologue that allows us to learn about him (his children, friends, divorce) and empathise with him. It took me by surprise at first that the play is partly in verse, but it grew on me. Over the course of the hour in which we follow Blackwood as events spiral out of control, the verse and playfulness of language gives it a sense of epic tragedy in a Shakespearean vein.

Also over the course of the hour, the tension continually climbs – thanks in part to the constant dialogue. Blackwood changes in an instant between different characters and there is hardly a moment for us to catch our breath. This is presumably what Calais Cameron and director Anastasia Osei-Kuffour were trying to achieve – a sense of wheels in motion, of small events accumulating until the whole is so much bigger than the sum of the parts. There are humorous moments, but it’s possible this work could benefit from a touch more light and shade.

There is so much energy in the play that it is all the more brutal when this energy seeps away as Blackwood’s character dies. The way in which this scene is filmed is totally unflinching and very powerful. We might feel uncomfortable and want to look away, but the camera keeps us on Blackwood until the bitter end. At the moment a live audience would normally applaud the cast and crew, there is a dedication to all those who have died because of systemic racism. This is an important story, told simply but to great effect.

Translating a Fringe Work for an Online Audience

Every work I watch online is a little different. I’m far from being a connoisseur, but it is interesting to see how different creative teams have responded to the requirements of the online format. What I found refreshing about Typical is that filming the work has actually made it more powerful in some respects than I felt an in-person experience would be. The staging is very simple. Blackwood is alone, with a black backdrop and a few black cubes as the only props. There is good use made of lighting techniques to take us from the character’s home to a nightclub and other locations as the night progresses.

For me the camera work was what made it. It gave added energy and movement that I wouldn’t have had if I saw this live. As the tension of the play builds, the camera moves from fairly wide shots closer and closer towards Blackwood. When he gets into a fight outside the club, it’s like the camera is right there in the mix. And then there’s that final scene where the camera holds us right where director Osei-Kuffour wants us. This is at-home theatre which feels like, instead of missing out by not being there, we are going behind the scenes. It helps of course that Blackwood is known for his TV work and plays to the various camera angles perfectly.

There are still a couple of weeks left in Typical’s run on Soho Theatre on Demand. It’s challenging viewing, but it’s important viewing for right now and I think well worth a watch.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

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