Review: Between the Lines

Wednesday, 8th May 2024 at New Diorama Theatre, London

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewer: Emma Dorfman

In the midst of the uncontrollable back and forth diss tracks between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, it’s difficult to comprehend the world of Between the Lines— a world of artistic censorship, spurring from deeply-rooted racial antagonism and ethnic stereotypes.

In this two act play with music, we meet the crew behind Blaze FM, a pirate radio station that keeps on kicking in the midst of court orders, injunctions, risk of shutdowns by DTI, and outright attacks against Black music across the UK. As we move forward in time – from 2003 to 2005 to 2012, and finally, to 2016 – we encounter more of the same: an entire movement struggling just to stay alive.

As is nearly always the case in a New Diorama production, the music and performances don’t simply shine; they enliven and invigorate the audience. Right from the get-go, the ensemble sets an (is there any other way to say it?) absolutely badass tone: Alpha (Aliaano El-Ali) spits fire and the audience goes wild. Jason (Alexander Lobo Moreno) starts out with some more modest verses but evolves into a more powerful ‘Big Jay’ who can ‘say it with your chest’, as his friends would prefer. A warning to any 90s babies in the audience: you will find yourself uncontrollably bopping.

Rounding out the younger generation is Aisha (Alpha’s smart, level-headed sister played by an angelic Anais Lone), Sparkz (Alpha’s ‘wifey’, played by Nadean Pillay), Stephen (Jake Walden), and Mute (played by scene stealer Daniel Holden). Hughbert (Andrew Brown) and Pritstick (Nadean Pillay) are the adults that keep the younger generation grounded and in line, but they are also the beating heart of Blaze FM.

For all its comedic moments – one standout moment being Hughbert’s surprise when he finds out his daughter Aisha not only got her dream job but is… negotiating?! – Between the Lines will also win audience’s hearts through its tender intergenerational moments. Without spoiling too much of the plot, incidents involving the adults and other oppressive outsiders rock the world of the younger generation. When Hughbert’s day of reckoning arrives, in particular, it gets more difficult to ignore the soft sobs amid the audience.

But aside from the show’s incredible beats, bops, and overall relatability, it’s also hard to forget the show’s interdisciplinary design. The boxy set nods to the council block in which we find Blaze FM’s HQ. Projection mapping, quite literally, illuminates the familiar setting, transporting us through scene to scene as the facade of rows and rows of council flats endlessly rolls up and up and up each floor. A bit of live cinema comes into play as Aisha takes out a handheld camcorder to record and upload Jason’s video. The effect is thrilling; the technology, so minimal and easy. We are transported back into the world of early 2000s new-age grunge in an instant, further situating the piece in a sea of nostalgia.

There is much that this production is able to pack in, and for that alone, it will hold plenty of resonance for nearly any audience member of any generation. In only two hours, the work manages to tackle racial discrimination, censorship, knife crime, underground music, gentrification, xenophobia, the death and rebirth of cultural movements… the list goes on. And the same battles that are fought in Between the Lines are still fights that continue to be fought.  

Between the Lines is at New Diorama Theatre until 1st June 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here.