‘Like seeing an old friend': Oyinkan Braithwaite on My Sister, the Serial Killer becoming a ballet
So begins the Ballet Black adaptation of my debut novel, My Sister, the Serial Killer. I have dreamed of it coming to life via various visual mediums – film, TV, as a musical, as a play. Not once did I consider it as a ballet production. And not because I don't love the medium – in a former life I joined a ballet school, which we won't dwell on here – but because, in creating this story, I focused heavily on dialogue and a ballet is essentially wordless.
Still, when I was approached by Ballet Black, I was intrigued. Ballet Black is a company founded by Cassa Pancho, with the mission to showcase diversity on stage and promote inclusivity for Black and Asian content. And perhaps, because of that, the perfect company to handle my story, which is set in Nigeria – a majority black environment.
Cassa directs the adaptation and her vision for it is clear. The plot is truncated, keeping only the elements required to get the story across in a 50-minute production – the murderous femme fatale, the put-upon sister, the doctor caught between them, the endless male victims and the knife at the heart of it all.
The first time I watched the performance, I was moved to tears. Ayoola, played to perfection by Helga Paris-Morales, entered the scene, and it was like seeing a friend from decades past. I would have known her anywhere. Certainly, there were differences – this Ayoola is more 'psychotic' – but the way she carried herself, the way she twisted her waist, the little shakes of her hips, the long, slow smiles, the playfulness, the teasing; all Ayoola. During her pas de deux with Dr Tade, played by Ebony Thomas, she allows him to feel in control, to pull her closer, and reach for her as she dances on pointe around him.
Then there's Korede, the protagonist in my story and in this ballet, and the more complex of the two sisters. Korede is played by the gifted Isabela Coracy. Isabela takes the character and illustrates her seriousness, her vulnerability and her pain. The agony can be seen in the way she hugs her body, and hunches her normally elongated form. Cassa was particularly insightful in giving Korede's demons life via the talented dancers that surround her, tug at her, torment her and pull her down into their harrowing depths.
And the team's attention to detail is truly impressive. One example: Ayoola's poisoning of her lover's drink perfectly synced to the beat of Toots and the Maytals' 54-46 Was My Number. And they nod to the source material's culture in the inclusion of Fela Kuti's Water No Get Enemy, a wonderful accompaniment to the original score by composer Tom Harrold which managed to be jaunty, mystical and compelling. I also thoroughly appreciated the authentic look of the Nigerian police uniform, courtesy of costume designer Jessica Cabassa.
My Sister, the Serial Killer is part of a double bill with Chanel DaSilva's A Shadow Work, a more abstract piece saturated with strong routines. There is so much of note – the thumping/fluttering of hands to chest, the helicopter spins the dancers perform, the arms swinging in pendulum style, the fixed smiling faces that could not be any creepier, the futuristic score and the silent, musicless communication at the centre of the piece. It is a work that explores the struggle when trying to come to terms with one's inner demons or alter ego. There is certainly a link that can be made with My Sister, the Serial Killer.
It goes without saying that I am highly biased towards this adaptation but I was not alone. Behind me, I heard a woman mutter 'psycho bitch' at one of Ayoola's actions. And I often caught the odd gasp. My husband, who is as familiar with the ins and outs of My Sister, the Serial Killer as I am, laughed several times. The performance was engaging, cheeky, funny, an excellent way to spend the evening with family, friends or even on your own – it won't matter because you'll be sucked in by the narrative and the bodies pirouetting effortlessly across the stage.
At Birmingham Rep on 27-28 March, then touring
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So you're like, 'I'm stuck in here until 10 o'clock at night, but it's six o' clock and I've finished all my work. Do you want to go and get a pint?' 'And you'd sit and have one or two. I wasn't getting steaming every night … But you start to recognise, 'Oh, wait a minute I've been for one or two pints four days this week.' 'And I could see it even in my own colleagues or folk from other parties. This is how you end up in a state, or this is how you end up with a real problem. You can see it happening around you. 'I suddenly realised if I'm seeing you in here all the time it means I'm in here all the time.' 'That definitely got nipped in the bud pretty quickly.' And then of course she was given her ADHD diagnosis in the midst of all this. At the time she said it was a real positive for her. She still feels that way today. 'I see it as a real strength. I feel like someone's given me the map to the maze in my own head. 'I'm learning more about myself as it goes on. 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'To be honest, I'm looking around thinking, 'There are better organisations that I could be giving a membership to than this one that I don't feel has been making the right decisions for quite some time.' 'The capitulation on LGBT rights, trans rights in particular.' She says, instead, she is going to back organisations such as the Good Law Project who are willing to fight on these issues in court. 'That's what I want to throw my money behind. She is still, she says, fervently pro-independence, though. There's another former big beast of the Scottish National Party in Edinburgh this month. Nicola Sturgeon will be appearing at the book festival. What does Black think the party's former leader's legacy will be? 'Time will tell. Undoubtedly no one can take away that she reached levels of influence and popularity and fear that I don't think anyone else has in recent memory … I can't think of anybody who has had that kind of impact, certainly on UK politics.' When you say fear …? 'Having been in Westminster at the height of Nicola's leadership, they were terrified of her, absolutely terrified. When she was in the building it spread like wildfire. You could see they're actually quite shaken at the very fact that she's here in person. 'So, there's no taking away from that. I've always said I think she is possibly the best politician I can think of UK-wide as to competency and being able to answer a question. I've never seen her shaken. She was always unflappable and I know from experience how difficult that is to do. 'So, as a politician I thought she was shit hot. 'As the leader of a political party, I thought she could have done so much better. The same is true of Alex Salmond when he was in charge and even John Swinney now. The actual structure of the party has never grown or adapted to that influx of membership, which I think has actually played a role in why a lot of folk have turned away from the party. It's because the structure just wasn't there to give people the kind of membership they were craving. 'So, there's definite failings and as time goes on I'm sure those failings will become much clearer. But I think for all the negatives that might be associated with Nicola Sturgeon I do think there are a hell of a lot of positives and there are a lot of folk who are now gunning for Nicola Sturgeon who at the time were clinging onto her coat tails for dear life. I'm not without cynically noticing, 'Oh, you've changed your tune all of a sudden.' 'Whereas there were people who had legitimate concerns and queries that were ignored for years, but they don't take it to the front pages of newspapers.' As for Black, does she have any idea of what she's going to do with the rest of her life? 'Genuinely I don't and for me that's half the excitement at the minute. I'm in a lucky enough position where for a year now I've been able to make a living out of just having a laugh. And I'll do that for as long as it suits me and as long as I feel that I can. 'But it's not like I've decided to do stand-up all my life. It's just trying on different hats and seeing what fits.' Next year she will be writing a book. Beyond that, who knows? 'I could see myself ending up in college lecturing, so maybe that's something that will one day come along. But for the time being I'm just enjoying sleeping in my own bed and being able to have a laugh because so much of that was missing for a good chunk of time there.' Mhairi, you've been in politics for a decade and now you're at the Fringe. It does suggest you might quite like a bit of attention. 'I know,' she says, smiling. 'That's what my wife says to me all the time. 'Do you not get enough attention? Was the theatre of people applauding you not enough? You need my praise?' 'Yes, I do.' Mhairi Black: Work in Progress, Gilded Balloon at the Appleton Tower, August 10-24, Midday Mhairi Black on Nigel Farage: 'He's the British Trump. Poisonous. I have absolutely nothing nice to say about him. How far have we fallen as a society when all it takes is a millionaire in a cravat holding a pint and suddenly we're like, 'Oh, yes, you must have my interests at heart?'' Mhairi Black on Keir Starmer: 'The guy believes in nothing. I've no doubt that he goes home and convinces himself that he's a very practical, reasonable set of hands who is guiding us through a very turbulent time. I just think it's rubbish. Naw, you don't believe anything. In order to guide people you've got to have an end goal and end destination. Keir Starmer cannae even make up his mind what that end destination is, so the idea that this guy is the saviour is nonsense.'
