Review: Samuel Takes a Break at the Yard Theatre

Wednesday, 21st February 2024 at the Yard Theatre, London

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewer: Emma Dorfman

When I first encountered Samuel Takes a Break… in 2021, in a teeny, 15-minute scratch as part of Omnibus Theatre’s Engine Room, I still remember one line nearly 3 years later. It’s a line that tour guide Samuel (played with equal parts levity and gravity by Fode Simbo) asks at the beginning of each one of his tours: “How does it feel?” An incredibly simple sentiment loaded with much more than what might appear on the surface.

In Samuel’s world, it is 2019. It is the “year of return” for many guests who will take one of his nine tours of the day. Several of the people who tour Cape Coast Castle with Samuel are seeking clarity: Where have they come from? What was the experience of their ancestors? Some even solemnly muse, “I don’t think I would have survived here.”

Considering the heavy themes inherent in any piece that is set in one of about 40 “slave castles” along Africa’s Gold Coast, you would never expect the humour that is so cleverly embedded in Rhianna Ilube’s script. Orange (played by Bola Akeju with all the seriousness required to create exceptional comedy) is a prime example of this.

Initially, you might think it’s the protagonist that will deliver the comedic relief: at the beginning of this performance, for instance, Samuel acknowledges that all of us have probably traveled far and wide to come and see the castle. He asks where we have traveled from today. “London,” replies one audience member. Samuel’s eyes get big and wide. The audience roars with laughter: “Oh wow, London! The UK! What a wide variety of places you have all come from. We are so happy you have made the journey to be here today.” 

But – and I believe this is a testament to excellent casting – it is Orange who nearly steals the show. In one scene, for instance, we find ourselves in the castle’s gift shop. Orange transforms into a rack full of ‘buy one get one’ souvenirs. Her face remains stoic as she rotates slowly, allowing the guests to peruse the merchandise. I simply could not stop cackling.

There are other moments, too, when Orange greets the guests at her post, the ticket booth. The price is 15 quid… until she sees a pretty woman among the tourists. “Are you two together?” she asks. They confirm somewhere in the distance offstage. “That will be 30 each for both of you.”

Despite all of the laughter, director Anthony Simpson-Pike, in coordination with a brilliant design team (lighting designer Christopher Nairne, video designer Gino Ricardo Green, sound designer Xana) and movement director Sung Im Her, adds visceral imagery that brings the ghosts of Cape Coast Castle to the fore.

From the very beginning, and in bits and pieces throughout, we are lured by two ghostly shadows, clearly in 19th-century dress, projected onto the castle walls. Surveillance video, too, allows a further view into Samuel’s world as he observes the sometimes strange, always multifaceted motives for the guests’ visits. Each transition is carefully crafted to show that not all is quite right in this world: lighting cuts, strobe effects, and distorted, slo-mo movements break up the action as well as the capital “R” Realism that might not be a feature of this world after all.

As a matter of fact, I would venture to describe Samuel Takes a Break… as a surreal workplace dramedy. The above additions provide all of the complexity of nuance that the piece’s themes require– themes like generational trauma, burnout, and fatigue abound. As Samuel attempts to take a break, he finds he might be more consumed by the ghosts in the castle than previously thought.

It couldn’t be ignored that many of Samuel’s guests were African-American. Their ancestors had arrived in the Americas via this castle or one just like it. They have, all at once, a personal and vaguely distant connection to the castle. Many have never stepped foot on Ghanaian soil, and yet, all are seeking a ‘return’. And many will never find what they are looking for. But Samuel still hopes, in vain, and will try his best to deliver his ‘most authentic’ tour every time.

Samuel Takes a Break is at the Yard Theatre until March 24th 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here.