The Lewisham Diaries 1: A Block Of Flats – The Albany

A discussion of A Block of Flats, a rehearsed reading of a play by Inua Ellams at the Albany in Deptford. A great way for me to start exploring Lewisham’s year as Borough of Culture.

Lewisham, London Borough of Culture 2022

London. 32 boroughs, spanning a wide distance both geographically and in terms of experience. Since 2019, the Mayor of London’s office names one borough per year as London Borough of Culture. A bit like the EU Capital of Culture scheme. It’s a good way to divert a bit of funding to local initiatives, projects and festivals. And to shine a positive spotlight on London’s creativity and diversity.

This year, the London Borough of Culture is my own borough, Lewisham! There is a whole suite of events coming up under the banner We Are Lewisham. A few highlights are already on my radar, so I am starting a new series, The Lewisham Diaries (thankfully a happier state of affairs than my previous series, The Covid Diaries).

And what better way to begin The Lewisham Diaries than with a mini festival curated by one of my favourite poets/writers/performers, Inua Ellams? In the past couple of years I’ve seen him perform his monologue An Evening With An Immigrant at the Bridge Theatre; followed by participatory poetry evening Search Party at the Donmar Warehouse. A Lewisham resident himself, today he is closer to home at The Albany, just off Deptford High Street. The Albany is a community theatre, creative hub and performance space with a diverse programme. Check them out some time!

A Block of Flats

So on to A Block of Flats, which was the first We Are Lewisham event that I have attended. As a rehearsed reading rather than a finished production I won’t give it a score or go into too much detail. But as a very cool and thought-provoking evening out I wanted to share what I could. And before I dive in – A Block of Flats was presented as part of 05Fest, a poetry and spoken word festival brought to you by none other than Inua Ellams. It’s on until 19 March so get booking.

A Block of Flats was the first event of 05Fest. Ellams is noted playwright (you may have heard of The Barbershop Chronicles which premiered at the National Theatre). So I was intrigued to see what this work in progress would be like. A Block of Flats is about… well… a block of flats. Or rather, its inhabitants. It takes place across different planes of reality, so we see events playing out between neighbours in said block. And also their reflections as we delve deeper into their actions and motivations, aided by the characters Order and Chaos.

As I already knew from his poetry, Ellams understands people. He is able to draw a character in a few words, and there is enough detail in the story here for each person to ring true, despite the very different nature of their personalities and backgrounds. Ultimately, this is a story about the alienation of city life, the way that it encourages (or forces?) us to be aggressively selfish at times, against out better natures. I can’t quite imagine how you would stage this work properly. Particularly given the frequent switches between reality and a higher plane. But I’ve said that before, and it turns out there are very creative people out there who can stage almost anything.

So I guess as reviews go, this one is light on detail but big on enthusiasm. Go see Inua Ellams any time you can, including 05Fest! Get involved in We Are Lewisham! And keep an eye out for any signs of A Block of Flats developing into a fully-fledged production; it’s got a lot of heart and promise! And that’s it from the inaugural Lewisham Diaries entry – over and out!