Shebeen review: Resentment simmers in this scorching tale of race riots

In the late summer of 1958, Notting Hill was scarred by race riots. A week earlier, a similar outbreak of unrest in Nottingham prompted a local paper to liken the St Ann’s area of the city to a slaughterhouse.

It is this less well-documented episode that Mufaro Makubika addresses in his tense new play, one of several recent dramas about Caribbean communities that have gained extra topical spark from the scandalous treatment of the Windrush generation.

Pearl and her husband George, a former prizefighter, run a shebeen — an unlicensed bar — in their terrace house in St Ann’s. It’s a haven for people who miss Caribbean staples such as curried mutton and calypso music. While a photo of the Queen looks down on the punters ambiguously, they dance, glug rum and trade opinions in this much-needed refuge from prejudice.

Matthew Xia’s well-cast production captures the shebeen’s genial atmosphere. Yet even as the conversations meander there are hints of trouble. Although the police at first seem willing to turn a blind eye to the after-dark entertainment, prim neighbours view it with suspicion. As ugly resentments fester nearby, the warm relationship between Theo Solomon’s suave Linford and white schoolteacher Mary (Chloe Harris) is a particular source of grievance for some.

The strength of Makubika’s writing is his ability to create rounded, engaging characters. The action in a dense second half could do with more breathing space, but there are some scorching scenes and moments of ripe humour. Karl Collins impresses as tightly wound George, contemplating a final payday in the ring, and Martina Laird is devastating as Pearl, who’s one of life’s survivors yet is tested to the limit.

​Until July 7