Black Is The Color Of My Voice

★★★★☆     Towering

Lyceum: Tue 2 – Thurs 4 Sept 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson

Black Is The Color Of My Voice, at the Lyceum for four performances ahead of a UK tour, boasts an outstanding performance by Apphia Campbell.

Campbell’s one-hander is inspired by the life of the singer, pianist and civil rights activist Nina Simone. Performed by Campbell herself at the Lyceum in a production from James Seabright, the production is set to tour through to November with Florence Odumosu performing on all dates.

Apphia Campbell in Black is the Color of My Voice. Pic: Rod Penn.

Although the play’s character is called Eugenia Williams – rather than Eunice Waymon – before taking the stage name Mena Bordeaux, the life portrayed is clearly Simone’s. The songs – See-Line Woman, Mississippi Goddam, I Loves You Porgy, Love Me Or Leave Me, Feeling Good – are also ones that are identified with her.

Simone’s towering reputation as a musician and writer has sometimes been overshadowed by the kind of criticism that creative, outspoken Black female performers routinely attract. While she clearly had her demons, they were largely of others’ making, and the pain she felt is clearly addressed here.

The racism that affected her, from dashing her early dreams of becoming a concert pianist and throughout her involvement with the civil rights movement, is also explored in some detail.

economy and grace

The play (first performed in Shanghai in 2013, and appearing at the Fringe on several occasions since 2014) is cleverly constructed, with Mena looking back on her life after the death of her father.

The journey through the singer’s life is done with economy and grace, and balances bleakness with humour. Most commendably, it rarely falls into the traps of dry exposition or by-the-numbers biography that bedevil such plays.

Florence Odumosu who will be performing in the Autumn 2025 tour of Black is the Color of My Voice. Pic Steve Ullathorne

Instead, a series of items retrieved from a suitcase prompt different memories. The result can be a little too impressionistic on occasion, with some details apparently missing. The fictionalising of the character, meanwhile, confuses the narrative as much as it frees it, but overall the resultant narrative hangs together beautifully.

The musical numbers are artfully deployed throughout. The production has featured other performers in recent years, but there is no doubt that Campbell’s performance is the definitive one. This is due not only to the skilful way that she portrays the character, but also to her singing.

Unsurprisingly, no attempt is made to impersonate Simone’s voice, but Campbell interprets the songs with emotion and skill, with her voice fairly filling the Lyceum.

magnetism

There are other things about the production that are not so well suited to these surroundings. The power and intimacy of the performance are dissipated a little by the size of the venue; the original direction by Aaron Hawkins and Nate Jacobs can seem somewhat predictable in a larger space, and the design just a little too functional.

There can be no denying the effectiveness and magnetism of the production, however, thanks in no small part to Clancy Flynn’s lighting design and Joseph Degnan’s tremendous sound design. The end result is a remarkable one, with Campbell’s stunning performance doing justice to a genuine 20th-century icon.

Running time: One hour and 20 minutes (no interval)
Lyceum Theatre, 30 Grindlay St, EH3 9AX.
Tuesday 2 – Thursday 4 September 2025
Evenings at 7.30pm; Matinee Wed 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.

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ENDS

Tags: Aaron Hawkins, Apphia Campbell, Black is the Color of my Voice, Clancy Flynn, Florence Odumosu, Hugh Simpson, Joseph Degnan, Lyceum, Nate Jacobs, Nina Simone, Review, Seabright Live, Theatre