David Jonsson as Junior in And Breathe… PHOTO: MARC BRENNER

THERE is no red carpet, no great fanfare. The auditorium is half full and we all sit in socially distanced pairs. The Almeida Theatre has reopened its doors with a quiet, reflective piece, worthy of our uncertain times.

Inspired by and adapted from Yomi Sode’s poignant prose poems, And Breathe… explores the loss of a beloved matriarch within a Nigerian British family.

Junior (David Jonsson) addresses his cousin Ade, whose grandmother, Big Mummy, is dying of cancer. This had been kept secret from the wider family until she was in the final stages of her illness.

When Big Mummy is moved into a hospice, the family confront their grief in different ways, filtered through Junior’s narration and expressed in Yode’s lyrical prose.

Throughout Jonsson’s one-hour monologue, he is accompanied on stage by acclaimed composer and musician Femi Temowo, who sits behind his mixing desk and punctuates every emotion and mood shift with a well-timed chord or riff that accentuates the text or adds atmosphere.

Jonsson is softly spoken and it takes a while to acclimatise to his understated storytelling, but he’s an engaging performer who plays the various characters in the family with relish.

Towards the end, as Junior’s grief becomes palpable, the mood lifts with tales of binge eating pizza and Big Mummy’s voice, which resonates from beyond the grave.

Two highlights are Paule Constable’s expressive lighting and Ravi Deepres’ superb video design which take us through stunning backdrops of trees, rocks, earth and water, peopled by white shadows; works of art in themselves.

Miranda Cromwell offers assured direction. And Breathe… is a contemplative piece and, as theatre, it’s a slow burn, but anyone who has experienced grief in some form or other will find plenty that resonates.

Sode’s debut poetry collection, Manorism, will be published in spring 2022 by Penguin Press.

Until July 10
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