Shida provides a visceral and unapologetic examination of a life derailed , with stellar acting and singing from Jeannete Bayardelle

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Developed and premiered at the Ars Nova in New York, Shida is currently enjoying its London debut at The Vaults theatre in Waterloo for a strictly limited run.

Written and performed by Jeannette Bayardelle (The Color Purple, Hair), this 70-minute one-act musical is based on a true story of one of Bayardelle’s closest friends. Set in The Bronx, New York City, Shida Brown is a young black girl living with her terminally-ill mother and her mother’s boyfriend ‘Uncle Steve’. Bayardelle surveys Shida’s journey from childhood to adolescence – from an ambitious young girl whose life is derailed by sexual abuse to a despairing young woman in the throes of addiction.

An impressive feat, Bayardelle also inhabits a range of personas from Shida’s loving mother, the wizened and supportive school teacher Mrs. Small, and Shida’s abrasive but loyal best friend Jackie. Using only a scattering of props and costume alterations, Andy Sandberg’s direction is subtle and fluid and Bayardelle switches personas with ease. Pursing her lips and adopting a croaky alto as Mrs. Small, Bayardelle gives heaps of sass as Jackie.

Thematically, the piece is not worlds apart from The Color Purple – which Bayardelle led on Broadway to acclaim. In both, a girl with socio-economic and personal circumstances stacked against her must persevere and fight to survive. A few narrative tangents mean that some important turning points are underdeveloped, but Bayardelle’s portrayal is visceral (at times distressingly so) and unapologetic.

The score channels jazz, R&B, gospel, and, in its headiest numbers, rock music. Perhaps a minor frustration is its fragmented nature, with some numbers either too fleeting or (intentionally) interrupted by the narrative. But when the libretto and score combine fully, Bayardelle is able to lift the roof off the theatre.

As a vocalist, she is phenomenally controlled and raw – even pausing for a sip of water after hitting a stratospherically high note in ‘Tony Gotta Go’ when Jackie orders Shida to leave a dysfunctional relationship. After closing the show to a full standing ovation, Bayardelle conceded that Jackie was a portrait of herself.

Shida is running till 13th October. You can buy tickets here !

(Image copyright: Helen Maybanks)