A British-Nigerian marriage - made in heaven or hell?

The first characters on stage in The High Table are Yoruba Ancestors on the North Star, On the edge of the Present.

They are trying to hear a conversation in London, where a couple of British Nigerians are announcing the good news about their intended marriage.

The wheels of the drama begin to turn.

For Tara’s parents, it’s not good news. They oppose it.  So do two of the three Ancestors who are required to give their blessing.

Because though “The Lord says ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male of female, for we are all one in Christ’”, Tara is betrothed to Leah.

To make matters worse “She doesn’t even look like a man … At least if she was one of those lesbians we could get away with it.”

Should they, shouldn’t they, will they, won’t they marry?

Writer Temi Wilkey throws in some plot twists and turns, a lot of humour - and a little music - to keep us guessing. The action alternates between London, Lagos and (pre)Heaven as the Earthlings muddle their way through the messiness of the human condition and the Ancestors try to weigh the pros and cons of gay marriage – and produce a revelation of their own.

It’s mostly talk, but the dialogue is fun, its flavour summed up in the writer’s instructions:

Teju and The Ancestors should speak with Nigerian accents.

The Mother and Father should speak in Nigerian accents, though slightly Anglicised.

All the other characters speak with British accents. Though Tara may often adapt a Nigerian accent at will.

The play is a plea for a pre-colonial, pre-missionary, authentic, all-embracing, inclusive Africanism, and it’s hugely entertaining.  Yes, there are weaknesses, and in the end the message, though heartfelt, is didactically heavy (echoing the final masque in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Ancestors instead of fairies), but it’s a real British Nigerian theatrical experience – and that’s a compliment because that means it’s proud, self-mocking, intelligent, vibrant, funny, and life-affirming. 

Wilkey provides a fitting acknowledgement: “Thank you to the ancestors that came before me and all the queer black elders who inspire me in life as well as art.”

+ 25 Feb, post-show Q&A.

+ 7 March, Talk Back: Queer in the Diaspora, open discussion for queer people of colour, 5pm

* The High Table is at the Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, W12, until 21 March. Info:  8743 5050/ https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/, and the Birmingham repertory Theatre on 25 March-9 April.