Le Gateau Chocolat is an experienced and highly talented performer, with several successful cabaret shows under his belt. With
Black is an important show. It delves into issues like homophobia, abusive relationships, and depression, and pitches this perfectly throughout, an all too rare phenomenon.
The show is wonderfully varied, maintaining Le Gateau Chocolat’s cabaret style and giving him the opportunity to utilise his experience to its full potential. He begins with an aria from Wagner’s Tannhäuser. While I am not suitably knowledgeable on the subject to pass judgement on the finer points of opera singing, his voice is stunning, and the raw emotion so readily expressed by opera shines through. Even those who are unfamiliar with opera are sure to be entranced from the very beginning.
His later songs are from a wide range of genres, and intercut by animations, voice-overs and - in the truly devastating moments - quiet monologues delivered by the performer. He delves deep into what it has meant to him to be black and overweight, to be different in many ways. This is at times heart-wrenching - he sings Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody in such a way that it tears at your heartstrings. However, what makes Black so entirely wonderful is its refusal to resign itself to an ultra-serious, gloomy piece. This show is very funny, making it all the more watchable, and therefore all the more powerful. Le Gateau Chocolat and co-writer/director Ed Burnside become masters of the audience’s emotions. Every element of this show is perfectly done and polished, from sound to the beautifully made and nostalgic animation by Mark Charlton, Little Black. This cartoon tells you the performer’s life story in a way that demonstrates its injustice without preaching or shouting. Likewise, the sections entitled ‘Tips for the Fat’ make you laugh at their truth whilst planting the seed of further thought.
Black is an important show. It delves into issues like homophobia, abusive relationships, and depression, and pitches this perfectly throughout, an all too rare phenomenon. Moreover, it doesn’t leave on a sad or happy note - it presents the facts in a wonderful and highly enjoyable manner and then leaves its audience to think on it. The fact of being black is reflected on all of us, as the fact of being different, or unjustly treated. Le Gateau Chocolat writes in his programme that ‘we are all human first and have all been Black at some point’. In Black, he demonstrates this with heart, humour and soul, and creates a unique and articulate piece that all should see.
