The Harder They Come

I was lucky enough to see The Harder They Come when I was living in Toronto last year. The all-British touring cast happened to include my best friend, a Leeds lass. I loved it then, but seeing it again last night at the West Yorkshire Playhouse proved two things: there’s no place like home and you can’t beat a Leeds crowd!

This is the stage version of the classic 1970s Jamaican feature film, The Harder They Come, which starred Jimmy Cliff – catapulting his career to new heights. The soundtrack made major waves and introduced reggae to an international audience. Based on the life of Ivanhoe ‘Rhygin’ Martin, who was somewhat of a ghetto Robin Hood and died in a shoot out with police in 1948, they added to his story for the movie, making him an innocent country boy trying to make it in the Kingston reggae world.

The cast last night (which differed slightly from the one I saw in Toronto) put on an amazing, high energy show. As you take your seats in the theatre, cast members wander around, in character, chatting, dancing and setting the tone. (This was rather confusing for me when I saw it in Toronto. My best friend accosted me as I arrived at the theatre, jabbered at me in patois for a few minutes before strolling off, leaving me utterly baffled). It’s great to see the improvisational abilities of the cast as a hubbub of activity goes on around them – all the while, great reggae music blasts from a huge speaker on the stage.

The story starts on ‘Ni-Night’, a ritual in Jamaica held on the ninth night after someone’s death – in this case, lead character, Ivan’s. Ni-Night is intended to be a celebration, cheerful and energetic. The story of Ivan is then told as we see him arriving in Kingston as ‘the country bwoy’ and begin his gradual rise to stardom.

His first stop is singing in a church, where he meets his love, Elsa. His feelings for Elsa have to be somewhat suppressed as her father is the preacher. And what an excellent preacher he is. Played by Victor Romero Evans to perfection, this character’s lines and mannerisms will have you stifling your laughter to make sure you don’t miss a moment of its genius. Similarly the DJ, played by Derek Elroy, is a small part but extremely funny. Ivan, played in this production by Matthew J Henry, has some serious moves and a beautiful voice.

The show moves from scene to scene, song to song with such ease, which is no doubt helped by the fact that the band is right there on stage with them. The classic reggae songs will have you grooving in your seat throughout.

It should be said, if you aren’t familiar with Jamaican patois, you will struggle to understand a lot of the dialogue. Pedro, played by Marlon King, was particularly difficult to understand, partly due to the sultry, Barry White deepness of his voice, coupled with the strong Jamaican accent – but when he sang, boy could he sing! There were times where the sound balance wasn’t quite right and the band were slightly too loud, drowning out some of the dialogue, but these moments were fleeting. You don’t need to understand every word to understand the story and you definitely don’t need to in order to enjoy the music.

This is a show where you’re encouraged to show your appreciation for it. No shy, wallflowers here please! (There’s a wonderful bit of audience participation where Inspector Ray Pierre, played by Craig Stein, asks for the house lights to be turned up so he can interrogate the crowd over the disappearance of Ivan.) And by the end of the show, there’s really no point in trying to stay in your seat. Resistance is futile. Get up, clap your hands, stomp your feet and let loose! Everyone else sure is!

The energy in the Quarry Theatre last night was fantastic. After the show had finished, people danced and grooved their way out of the theatre. You saw people in the lobby slyly grooving to whichever reggae song was stuck in their head and everyone was smiling, laughing and having a great time.

You can’t ask much more from a bit of theatre than that, can you?