Beige, in the context of Beige, equals ‘neutrality’. This, of course, requires more context, which is duly supplied in what becomes quite a long preamble (given the one-act length of the show). In a cross between an interview and an audition – for what, precisely, isn’t quite clear. Joy (Jessica Nlabu) is invited into a room, and it seems she is up for a vacant position. But there are none of the usual formalities such as a brief introduction to the company and the department within which the vacancy exists. And there is certainly no opportunity for Joy to ask any questions of her own at the end of proceedings.
Beige, then, is apparently ‘what sells’ – which, of course, begs the question, what sells what? What even is the target market(s) for this organisation? These, like so many details in this show, is left to the audience to determine, or indeed not to bother, though there is time to reflect and ponder in this slow burner, where some of the pauses are so long Nlabu, who also wrote the play, effectively gives Harold Pinter a run for his money. In some ways, it’s a refreshing departure from the approach taken by so many short plays, which try to pack in as much as is feasible at a brisk pace.
This, then, is a play that ‘gets it’ – there’s no time-hopping between years or even decades, and in a fairly sparse stage, with only a small table with some papers on it, a chair and a clipboard as set and props, this is a production that has understood the ‘less is more’ concept. Some of the instructions from the interviewer (Shannon Kurlander) are bizarre enough for the play to be dabbling in ‘theatre of the absurd’.
There’s much to be observed in Joy’s attempts to conform to societal expectations, as the interviewer increasingly represents contemporary society at large herself: if Joy were to behave in a manner considered ‘too black’, for instance, ‘society’ has its ways of dealing with that sort of thing. (What is ‘too black’? Well, it’s whatever society thinks it is.) I got the feeling Joy very nearly became someone trying to please all of the people all of the time. There’s a quiet assuredness about this play, well-written and well-performed as it is. A thoughtful and perceptive piece of theatre with no clear-cut solutions to the scenario it presents.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Beige is a bold, darkly funny and deeply personal two-woman performance about the violence of being “easy to consume”.
A woman stands before an audience and tries to explain who she is. Not because she wants to, but because she has learned that clarity is currency. Caught between cultures, expectations and labels, she finds herself performing versions of herself for everyone except herself.
Cast – Jessica Nlabu, Shannon Kurlander
Writer – Jessica Nlabu
Director – Catherine Mieses
Producer & PM – Rebecca Tozzoli-Clozza
Lighting & Sound Designer – Nathan Hunt
Stage Manager – Jude Chibueze Meju
BEIGE
Riverside Studios, 11 to 14 August 2026 (Presented as part of Bitesize Festival 2026)
Lion & Unicorn Theatre, 27 to 29 August 2026 (Presented as part of The Camden Fringe)
