The Brown Suite
BlacBrik Dance
Fundamentally Dance, Jamiel Devernay-Laurence
Opera House, Manchester
October 23, 2026; 1hr 35 mins
(also at Alhambra, Bradford, November 6-7; Darlington Hipppodrome, November 10; York Grand Opera House, November 19-20)
When watching a production that has flaws it's possible to think that at least there will be merit marks for some aspects of the event: staging or lighting, perhaps.
Sadly in the case of dance show The Brown Suite, the scenery is minimal and the lighting is either too dark - so that the dancers are almost invisible - or straight into our eyes; Just like a dance club, in fact.
The original concept and choreography for this show was developed by Nahum McLean and Darius Drooh, who clearly felt the music of James Brown was all they needed to make a successful production. To extend the length and story-telling potential, they added Sam Cooke and Etta James to the mix. Which is all very well and can easily be achieved - with effective dancers and direction. Anyone who has seen Rambert Dance use a Rolling Stones soundtrack can vouch for this. But all the gears have to mesh for a good piece of dance theatre to result.
Creative producer Jamiel Devernay-Laurence either doesn’t feel he should shape the work, or that it is beyond his brief. As a result, the production is a rather disjointed sequence of actions that fail to tell a story.
Occasionally a dancer or even two can overcome the shapelessness and demonstrate their talent. But these are dancers, not storytellers nor actors. Hugo Bragg, for example, clearly has real talent, which he uses to good effect in his duet with a case. And then the action moves on to the next song...
If you like the soul music genre, this show will give it to you at maximum volume. Yes you can sing along, because the action on stage will be almost incomprehensible, and why not? Be Happy, Don’t Worry, sang Bobby McFerrin. Most of the audience appeared to take this advice to heart.
Judging from the shouts that accompanied even the simplest of dance moves, the audience does enjoy the show. As far as I could ascertain, if you are a young woman in a group of young women and like this music genre, then this may be the show for you. But my advice would be to go to your local dance club to see better dancing, music and lighting.
More info and tickets here
