Legends of Them, Brixton House

How does one find true peace? Is it through accepting the darkness of yesteryear? Reveling in life's achievements? Or paying homage to those who have guided you along the way? The Legends of Them is a deeply personal account of Sutara Gayle’s (aka Lorna Gee) journey to enlightenment and is a glorious exploration of how we can embrace the past to find solace in the present.

We meet the exceptional Sutara in India where she has embarked on a silent retreat. Anticipation lingers in the air as she takes her place calmly center stage. “Once you surrender to the silence only then will you understand the essence of who you really are”: this is a story of self-discovery.

And what a story to follow. Sutara Gayle is not only a critically revered actress but was a pioneering female reggae deejay in the 1970’s under the name Lorna Gee. Dubbed one of the queens of‘Lover’s Rock, she was an influential presence on male dominated soundsystems including Coxsone and Nasty Rockers. She even used her musical gravitas to promote justice, first in 1986’s Labour voting drive and two years later at the Artists Against Apartheid concert.

We start the 90-minute blueprint of her life with a vignette of her musical achievements. Suddenly the controlled peace of the silent treatment we started in is broken with a roaring reggae performance. She toast’s snippets of some of her most famous songs including ‘Gotta Find a Way’ alongside side-splitting impressions of some of the biggest musical names of the era including Shabba Ranks and Buju Banton. The audience members next to me were all shaking in their seats from laughter and an overwhelming desire to dance.

Song is a powerful device throughout the one woman show. It’s used unexpectedly throughout to bring to life the main characters in Gayle’s life from her mother Euphemia to her well respected guru brother Mooji, who narrates our journey. A highlight is a song, sung in a caricature rendition of her mum, which is a ballad to her hometown Brixton. She sang of vegetables at the market that reminded Euphemia of Jamaica, rhyming Okra and peppers with household cleaning product brands, to great comic effect. The way Sutara brings the characters to life is faultless. She seamlessly switches between them, embodying their spirit so we feel they are right there on the stage in front of us.

No spiritual journey is complete without facing the demons of the past. The harder parts of Sutaras life are explored with raw heartbreaking honesty, whether it’s hints at her mothers abusive partner or her stint in Holloway prison, where she heard her single ‘Three Weeks Gone (Mi Giro)’ for the first time on the radio. The shooting of her sister, and one of the guiding prophecies in the play, ‘Cherry’ is a gut wrenching pinnacle of the show. The racist attack during a police raid fuelled the Brixton riots in 1985. Gayle incites a moving monologue as her sister Cherry, begging for the rioters to not enact violence on the family's behalf.

The powerful themes of the play are furthered by the set design, lighting and sound engineering, by Gino Ricardo Green, Joshie Harriette and Tony Gayle in that order. A 360 projection engulfs us within our protagonist's mind, home videos, news clips, and guiding prompts from guru Mooji, bringing clarity and immersion to the story. Images blur and contort across the screen, accurately depicting human memories. The sound is similarly captivating, with crystal clear instrumentals you would expect at a concert during musical numbers, and disconcerting noises during darker moments of the play.

This show will serve as a nostalgic voyage to those familiar with Brixon’s soundsystem culture and make newcomers fall head over heels in love with it. During the roaring applause, where not one person remained seated, there was a sense that this cultural feat will live long beyond the 30th September closing date. The Legends of Them is a socio-political triumph. It not only serves as a pertinent chronicle of a truly inspirational woman’s life, and the musical movement that surrounded her, but as an enticing invitation to embark on your own journey of enlightenment.

Photo credit: Harry Elletson