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REVIEW | This Bitter Earth, Soho Theatre - London
- Harry Brogan
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
AD | Tickets gifted in exchange of an honest review.
“THIS BITTER EARTH” is Harrison David Rivers latest play, delving into the lives of inter-racial gay relationships, unpicking delicate truths and myths to uncover the raw honesty that lies underneath. This version, premiering at Soho Theatre and directed by the queer icon that is Billy Porter (who I will say was dressed absolutely gorgeously that evening), delivers on all the playwright promises in his script and more, crafting an intense, intimate performance that does not aim to answer all your questions, but rather show you the reality of queer love.
The play follows two characters; Jesse (played by Omari Douglas), a queer black playwright attempting to find the balance between art and politics, and Neil (played by Alexander Lincoln), a queer white political activist, who balances his activism with his privilege and guilt. The story follows their relationship in fragmented scenes, jumping all over their timeline as they discuss race, politics, sex, morality and everything in between. Each scene brings something new to their relationship, and as the play goes on, we begin to jigsaw the fragments of their relationship together, keeping the audience glued to figure out where the missing pieces are and what they are. This distorted view of a relationship is incredibly interesting to watch unfold, and though I was confused at the start, by the end when all the pieces came together I felt accomplished, with the reward being a feeling of satisfaction, cut with the bleak reality that is the end of this play (which we’ll get to later…)
The acting throughout the show helped keep me engaged also. Alexander Lincoln plays Neil with a brutish loudness, not shying away from this character's flaws and complications, but playing Neil with an undeniable truth that feels genuine and connected. Lincoln finds a softness in the second half of the show, but we wish he could have tapped into a few more levels from the get-go, creating a more rounded character to empathise with.
By far the stand out of the entire evening however is Omari Douglas’ performance as Jesse. Raw, honest, soft, scared; Douglas leaves all his cards out on the table for this performance. He plays the playwright with such human quality, you really believe you are watching the breakdown and rebirth of a real couple, held by his superb presence when directing speeches at the audience. Douglas and Lincoln have a fantastic chemistry, especially towards the second half, that glued me to the stage throughout. Douglas is truly an acting force to behold, and to watch him deliver the final monologue of the play is absolutely heart-breaking. I don’t want to spoil this play, but the ending is truly one of the most powerful endings of a play I have seen in a long time. That’s all I'll say on that.
Billy Porter’s directing is clearly something that is very particular. The care he takes in the scenes between the titular two is beautiful, crafting scenes and images that feel really real, and feel like they display the minds of these characters out on the stage for us to see. He clearly has a talent for the specifics of crafting an emotional language through these characters.
Where Porter falters for me is in the moments that aren’t dialogue. Transitions can feel a little rushed, not totally fluid and almost like they were a last minute thing. The dialogue flows so beautifully in this show, so you ache for the transitions between scenes to do the same. Unfortunately, bar one beautiful transition involving Douglas dancing on a table, the rest leave more to be desired. I also wish projection was used in a more innovative way, or just cut completely; it felt like something they wanted, but was not necessarily needed to enhance the show, unless it was used in a way that complimented the scenes, perhaps with verbatim from riots or real video clips to show the horror of police brutality.
However, both performances and the content of Harrison David Rivers writing itself more than makes up for a few flaws in transitions.
This play is beautiful. This play is honest. This play is uncomfortable. This play is incredibly needed in our world right now. It tells a story that holds back no punches; it lays the table with the harsh truth of queer, inter-racial love, leaving it there for us all to digest. It is surely something to behold, and definitely something to witness.
★★★★.5
This Bitter Earth plays at Soho Theatre until Saturday 26th of July.
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