Manchester Drive bursts with brilliance
Manchester Drive tells the story of aspiring rapper Ards as he tries to balance his new found fame as a rapper with his parents’ expectations of graduating medical school. After a video of him performing goes viral, he embarks on a career in music and tries to make his new life work.
I was absolutely blown away by the quality of this show – it’s the best thing I’ve seen in a while and has the potential to be a huge hit. The crossover between UK rap and theatre is one that I, personally, am a huge fan of. Weaving together the lyricism and wordplay of Ards’ bars with the narrative arc of the show creates an incredibly rich story that will be far more appealing to fans of UK rap and music of Black origin than a traditional musical.
Behkam Salehani plays lead character Ards. He is an incredibly talented performer; rapping, playing piano as well as acting and writing the show.
His performance is natural and likeable, and he possesses a boy-next-door charm that brings the production to life. Salehani has the bulk of the lines in the performance and has a good eye for timing in some of the longer monologues, delivering them with consistency and attention to detail.
My favourite element of the show was Salehani’s brand of conscious rap, which is a real earworm, and shows lyrical talent that would be more than enough to launch a musical career. Fans of artists like Joe James and Loyle Carner will immediately connect to his lyrics and style.
The writing is brilliant in both the small details and the narrative arc. There’s laughs throughout, as well as more than our fair share of audience interaction, including getting on stage to film a music video.
Ard’s story is told from the heart, weaving immigrant experiences with the aspirations of Britain’s young creatives. It’s also a show about the privilege that shapes London’s streets. Tying together these threads with dramaturg Adrian Paul Jeyasingham shows an eye for narrative that makes the story both touching and important. Director Amari Harris has also done impressive work to create a show that balances these elements with plenty of humour, especially as the performance flows well between the two.
Salehani is joined on stage by Rima Georges and Wesley Bozonga.
Bozonga is a fountain of energy and expression, and his performance is impossible not to like. He switches effortlessly between a variety of characters and accents, making each one memorable. His on-stage chemistry with Salehani is a pleasure to see and drives the show. I look forward to seeing him in another role in the future, and he would make a fantastic lead.
Georges is used less, especially in the first half, but grows into her role and gives a strong performance. As romantic interest Shirin, she is considered and natural, seeking to ground the story with her documentary-making versus the extravagance of Ards’ blossoming career. I especially enjoyed her portrayal of Ards’ mum, a great source of laughs throughout.
I hope this show will be returning to London’s stages soon and I encourage everyone to go and see it.