Review Search Party Tobacco Factory Theatres

Poet and Audience come together to create cross-cultural performance

Performance on Wednesday 11 September 2024

A beautiful cloud of words enveloped the auditorium of the Factory Theatre, with Inua Ellams’ lovely show Search Party.

Inua Ellams is a Nigerian-born poet, playwright and charismatic performer. He’s able to conjure pictures in the imaginations of audiences with his sometimes profound, sometimes funny but always perfect words.

The concept of the show is that the audience is asked to call out any random words they choose. Inua will then search his back catalogue of poems and writings on his tablet and perform one which contains that word.

It’s a clever idea making every single performance entirely different. The energy of each show will also change according to the dynamics of different audiences.

The performance on 11 September 2024 was a gentle and engaging experience. Silence reigned in the theatre, everyone tuned in to each spoken verse.

Some of the words contributed from the audience included cat, whiskey, bollocks/balls and scooter. Amazingly, he had poetry or writing for every word called.

Scooter was likely shouted after Inua told a tale of woe over Bristol hire scooters and the city’s cobbles.

One poem that was triggered by the audience was a clever re-writing of Simon Armitage’s poem Not The Furniture Game. Inua’s version was personal. A time when his mother was ill with malaria.

We also had a poetic sequel to the Eddie Murphy movie Coming To America.

With thanks to the audience member who called out scooter, we had a really insightful poem from the perspective of a real Deliveroo rider. Of course, he was on a scooter. A lone person flying alone at night through deserted streets during lockdown. Why were people clapping for NHS workers when only weeks before, many were celebrating Brexit and wishing migrants – which the NHS dearly relies upon – would leave the country?

The warm and inviting set could have been a living room in any boho home. A cosy sofa sitting in the centre of the stage, surrounded by framed pictures. A table spilling books and belongings. A coffee cup inching precariously towards the table’s edge. Behind, a large pot plant thrusted sharp leaves. Scarves and jumpers limply grasped at a wooden coat stand.

Unbelievably, we learn – during a Q&A session – that this isn’t a set Ellams has brought with him. It’s pretty much the contents of Tobacco Factory Theatres’ lost property. And probably some bits hanging around the offices.

That lost items finding a renewed purpose with their own starring moment on stage a poetic moment in itself.

The one-hour show flew by so quickly that it was sad when the performance finished, bringing the tea party down from the ceiling.

During the Q&A section of the performance we learn that Inua has 47 bespoke Zanna Bukar Hats. In explaining the high number, Inua offered three reasons. Firstly, that it keeps him connected to his community. It also makes him identifiable as a performer. This is particularly useful in overcoming the identification bias at play when performing as a Black man for white audiences. And, every time he experiences a racist or Islamophobic attack or insult, he buys five more in defiance.

Search Party is not a show just for the poetry lovers. It’s a wonderful performance piece that relies on both poet and audience for a cross-cultural exchange and makes for an enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

Search Party is on at Tobacco Factory Theatres until 14 September 2024

For more information or to book, visit: https://tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/search-party/

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