Half Breed

Tash Marshall
Soho Theatre and Talawa Theatre Company
Assembly George Square Theatre

Natasha Marshall Credit: Richard Davenport

Natasha Marshall has a lot going for her. She is a talented and very energetic performer capable of creating memorable characters. She also has a poetic way with a rhyming couplet.

Half Breed tells the story of 17-year-old Jazmine, the only non-white resident of a Somerset village beset by prejudice and small-mindedness.

Thanks to a supportive Gran, Jaz is heading for drama school in London and the chance to spread her wings somewhere more accepting.

Before leaving, she needs to sort out a few local difficulties, all generated directly or indirectly by Neanderthal Mitchell.

He is the local bully but also the partner of Jaz's love-blinded best friend, Brogan, an airhead Aryan with a good heart and maternal instincts.

The plotting does not match up to the rest of this powerful piece, relying on a predictable twist in the tail to achieve a satisfactory ending.

Even so, Half Breed marks Natasha Marshall and her director Miranda Cromwell as ones to watch. Those who are unable to get to Edinburgh can catch it at Soho from 11-30 September.

Reviewer: Philip Fisher

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