Heroes Preview: Heart and Hardship in East London

Written by double-award-winning Chakira Alin, Heroes is a captivating exploration of inner-city life, friendship, fatherhood and football. Set on an East London council estate, Heroes tells the story of Jonno, a young man with a father he has never met, until one Father’s Day. The play follows the rippling effects this encounter has on Jonno and his community. I spoke with director Dixie McDevitt and lead actor Yoel Mulugheta (Jonno) about the upcoming staging of this exceptional new piece of student writing.

Dixie’s excitement for the upcoming performance is contagious and the energy that she brings to her direction is reciprocated by her “fantastic cast”. Indeed, Dixie’s favourite part of the play, aside from “the incredible script”, is the “big group scenes” which allows the audience to relish in the vibrancy of the cast. The natural energy between the actors is palpable “both on and off the stage” and this energy has a tendency to translate to volume as “you can always hear them coming down the hall”.

This lively energy reflects into the characters and their wonderful, complex relationships. Witty, sarcastic and intimate friendships are at the heart of Heroes, providing the play with a wholesome tenderness as well as moments of comedic joy. A duo I particularly enjoyed watching during the rehearsal was ‘White Sal’ and ‘Black Sal’ who provided a comical insight into female friendship.

Yet despite the light hearted and comedic overtones of the show, Heroes is not afraid to delve into the dark exploring some harsh realities of everyday British life that are seldom shown on stage. Heroes representation of East London life, Dixie and Yoel hope will provide the audience with something “different from normal Cambridge”, middle-class plight. Rather, Heroes, “is reflective of the people here – it is reflective of the student body” and their everyday lives away from the grandeur and eminence of Cambridge. Heroes therefore provides both an “eye opener” for some and a reflective lens for others, cementing itself as a “story worthy of telling”.

A story that is both rooted locally within East London as well as universal with themes that transcend spatial constraints and even football loyalties (though I suspect West Ham fans will be especially pleased with the production). The story is what drew lead actor Yoel to the performance as the plot is “superb, with great highs and lows and characters which jump off the page”. Ultimately Yoel hopes that the audience will come away from Heroes with a greater appreciation that “your family and your home is where your heart is”, whatever form that takes.

Promising to provide “naturalism with a pinch of the magical”, Heroes is performing at the ADC Theatre between Wednesday 23^rd and Friday 25^th at 11pm. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Feature image credit: Bernie Carter 

Three articles recommendedd by this author: 

• Preview: (Re)Present Monologue Night 
• Review: The Calligrapher 
• Preview: Out of Water