Dreamscape at the Arcola Theatre ★★★★

Photo by Charisma Benitez

Written by Rickerby Hinds and co-directed by Hinds and Mxolisi Masilela, Dreamscape is a powerful, inventive piece of hip-hop theatre that celebrates Black life while directly confronting the systemic violence that threatens it.

Inspired by the 1998 police shooting of 19-year-old Tyisha Miller in Riverside, California, the production refuses to define its central character solely by tragedy. Kim Blanché Adonis gives a captivating performance as Myeisha, presenting her as playful, expressive and vividly alive. Through memories of friendship, music, movement, beauty and growing up as a young Black woman, Myeisha emerges as a fully realised person beyond the tragic news story.

Moving fluidly through vignettes of friendship, music, and the nuances of growing up as a young Black woman, Adonis ensures Myeisha emerges as a fully realised person rather than a detached headline. Myeisha’s humour and confidence act as structural tools of resistance, asserting her humanity against the sterile, institutional frameworks that surround her.

Kgwadi Tshwarelo Selolo provides a commanding live soundscape. Utilizing vocal percussion and beatboxing, Selolo weaponizes rhythm, breath, and sonic repetition to build palpable tension and dictate the production’s rapid pacing. Doubling as the coroner, his clinical, detached forensic descriptions present an unsettling counterpoint to Myeisha’s warm storytelling.

Hinds utilizes these stark tonal shifts to pivot smoothly into broader reflections on Black identity; one particularly striking sequence juxtaposes an objective anatomical inventory of the body with a rich, authentically written celebration of Black hair.

The production leans on call-and-response dynamics, though the staging would benefit from a clearer structural invitation for audience participation. While those familiar with African-American performance traditions interact instinctively, a more definitive cue from the performers is required to fully galvanize a cross-cultural auditorium and solidify the piece’s intended communal atmosphere.

Ultimately, Dreamscape remains a compelling and necessary production. It successfully honors a tragic loss while defiantly centering a portrait of Black womanhood that is joyful, intimate, and resiliently human.

Dreamscape is at the Arcola Theatre until 8th August 2026 https://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/dreamscape/