Full of love, meaning, and beautiful music, but did not reach its full potential
Described as a Sunday Service of black queer excellence, Spirituals makes queerness holy through beautiful vocals and a strong stage presence. However, despite its impact, the overall performance felt underdeveloped as a piece of theatre.
It all begins in darkness. Dressed all in black and dimly lit, Le Gateau Chocolat starts the performance as a silhouette, voice vulnerable and raw singing a sober rendition of ‘I feel love’ by Donna Summer. The stage is simple, black curtains, a grand piano, and a church pulpit. As the performance progresses, Le Gateau is lit in all the colours of the rainbow, illuminating the diamonds on his suit like stars on a black sky. Although this was beautiful in of itself, I think the costuming really could have been taken further, especially in the second half, where there was indeed a costume change, however it was a very subtle one. Had instead Le Gateau emerged in a more feminine attire to contrast his baritone voice, this would have been an interesting way to cause explore queerness; playful nod to the camp-ness of the Catholic church’s extravagant atheistic. This would have especially made sense since Le Gateau is a drag performer. Had he emerged in something more akin to the beautifully camp dress seen on the posters of the event, that would have felt more fitting. This then would have greatly complimented the effect that was made when Dr. David McAlmont joined the stage, dressed again all in black but with a costume in silhouette that resembled an African priest, this masculine attire was beautifully in contrast to McAlmont’s more feminine Tenor vocal range.
Speaking of McAlmont, what a highlight he was! He had amazing charisma and stage presence with a voice that made you feel like the holy spirit was running through you. I can not stress enough how breath-taking his performance was! Le Gateau of course was a very talented singer, however he lacked the resonance that McAlmont had, especially when placed in comparison with him when they performed on the stage together.
The score itself was based on a selection of songs from the ground-breaking Black American sopranos Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle’s famed 1990 Carnegie Hall concert ‘Sing Spirituals’, with many of the songs being written/sang/composed by black artists. Upon arrival we were handed a ‘Order of Service’ like one would at church, with the songs that were to be performed, alongside bible verses/prayers that were to be read. This could have been a great way to set the tone for the performance, however once it began, we were instead placed in the world of music that felt more akin to pop ballads and musical theatre. Therefore, when in the latter part of the performance we were suddenly thrust purely into gospel music, this felt rather jarring. Despite this, the second half was certainly more entertaining than the first, as it felt like it had a much stronger narrative, embodiment, and connection with the audience, compared to the much more stagnant stationary former. Thus, the structure of the performance, really let itself down. The overall atmosphere felt unsure at beginning for the audience, but once established we had a better understanding of the world we were in, and therefore could relax and immerse ourselves fully into it. A spoken introduction, like a preacher at a sermon, could have been a great grounding technique at the beginning of the performance to place us in the world of spirituality, which would then go on to be explored in its multitudes throughout the performance.
At its core, it was a performance about gathering, about human connection, about finding community and the sacred in alterative spaces, especially when you are rejected from the spiritual spaces that you are born into. This, of course, is a very reliable experience for many LGBTQ+ people, especially those who have had a religious upbringing which has rejected them and later found solace in queer spaces.
A highlight of the performance, that really hit home the feeling of congregation, was when near the end of the performance, we as an audience were asked to make an ‘offering’, like one would in a traditional church service, except instead of money, we were directed to write down a blessing or reflection. Le Gateau then read some of these aloud which was an emotive moment, with sentiments ranging from gratitudes to the performers, to my own contribution ‘there’s a place for us’, which was in reference to the West Side Story song that was sung earlier in the play.
However, despite these beautiful moments of spirituality, situated in a large traditional theatre with the audience spaced out across the seating, we weren’t physically into a space that felt very sacred. Had the performance taken place in the Lowry’s smaller theatre, there would have been a much more intimate feeling. Or, even better, had this been a site-specific piece held in either a church or a gay bar, that would have been a really powerfully immersive experience.
This show runs at X until Y. Tickets here.