The World or the Soul? 'Retrograde' Is a Portrait of a Legend: Apollo Theatre Review

★★★★ | “What does it profit a man to gain a whole world and lose his soul?" Ryan Calais Cameron’s Poitier (Ivanno Jeremiah) asks as he faces an impossible choice in this West End transfer of Cameron’s latest play, Retrograde. The writer of For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy captures the moment in which, in 1955, a routine contract signing becomes the event over which Sidney Poitier’s career and integrity hang in the balance. Studio lawyer Mr Parks (Stanley Townsend) and the director of Poitier’s new film, Bobby (Oliver Johnstone), dial up the tension over this 90-minute play, as Cameron shows us (in real-time) the impossible decision Poitier must make.

Cameron’s writing is highly witty and extremely precise. He pinpoints the core of each character and their social contexts: Mr Parks’ wish to protect democracy for “men like us” (white, influential, rich), Bobby’s naivety, and Poitier’s firm artistic-moral compass. This show is both a tribute to Sidney Poitier (1927 – 2022) and a provocation to artists in times of political upheaval.  

Ivanno Jeremiah (as Poitier) in Retrograde. Photo Credit: Marc Brenner

With Sharma’s direction and Cameron’s firm handle on tension, the three actors keep a tight grip on the intensity of the situation. Though we start with moments of banter and ostensible lightness, there is an undeniable undercurrent of manipulation from Mr Parks that constantly unsettles the whole room. Jeremiah’s emotional control is impressive. He delivers a well-paced performance, only giving us hints of the turmoil within Poitier, until his well-earned outburst at the height of the play. “I am angry,” he declares, and we feel it because of the glimpses we’ve seen throughout. 

At times, though, Cameron inserts passages of biographical information that seem slightly extraneous to the situation at hand. It is to his and Sharma’s credit that they never let the tension of the scene slip but one questions whether we as the audience need to know so much about the life of Poitier. When working with true real-life stories, a writer has to balance telling the story of the moment with the story of a life. It seemed to veer too much into the latter at times, especially when the scene seemed to demand constant forward motion. 

Additionally, Cameron gives us moments of slightly absurd humour. Mr Parks constantly twists common expressions (e.g. “killing one bird with two stones”), Bobby comes off bumbling at times, and both men seem to constantly make light of the whole (ostensibly dire) situation. In the midst of this, we are forced to confront the true absurdity of this situation, of being treated as less than because of the colour of your skin, or being made to read a pre-written statement denouncing your friend on national radio. Sharma furthers this by making Mr Parks a larger-than-life villain both in his physicality and the occasional deepening of his voice. We are shown a pristine, dream Hollywood world, only to have it shattered with the violence planned by the studio on Poitier’s integrity as an artist and his personhood. 

Oliver Johnstone (as Bobby) and Stanley Townsend (as Mr Parks) in Retrograde. Photo Credit: Marc Brenner

Though slightly cliché at points, design moments situate us squarely in the charm of old Hollywood. Amy Mae’s lighting design gives the set an uncanny warmth, as though it is lit by studio lighting. At one point of particularly high tension, sound designer Beth Duke chooses to underscore the tension with the tick of a clock. Throughout the play, the action is punctuated by the ringing of a phone (which Mr Parks always picks up until it rings for the last time). These choices seem fitting for a show set during the McCarthy era of old Hollywood. The audience is led to feel as though we are viewing this world through a window.

In the final scene, Ivanno Jeremiah, playing himself now, steps out of the frame. As a recording of Poitier’s voice plays, he views the set, the audience, and the grand Apollo Theatre. In the audience, we are reminded of this moment’s lasting impact and legacy, and its pressing relevance at a time when artists are yet again being made to choose between their art and survival.

★★★★

Retrograde plays at the Apollo Theatre until 14 June.