Black Is The Colour Of My Voice: Art and Activism
Raquel Jones, starring in Black Is The Colour Of My Voice
We are excited to announce that Black Is The Colour Of My Voice is being showcased at TOM this April, inspired by the jazz artist and civil rights activist, Nina Simone. Ahead of the performance, our guest writer, Maria, researched the play and its relation to Nina Simone’s background, picking out information that might be useful for a more insightful experience on how art can be used in activism:
Overview of Black Is The Colour Of My Voice
Apphia Campbell wrote Black is the Colour of My Voice in 2013 and made her West End debut with its performance in 2019.
The one-woman show follows a successful jazz singer and activist, Mena Bordeaux, as she seeks redemption after her sudden death of her father. Her father was the man who introduced her to music and guided her towards a life of devotion and discipline. In her grief, she faces isolation and reflects on her journey from a young piano prodigy who was destined for a life in the service of the church, to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
The themes of faith, identity, trauma and transformation are explored whilst Boudreaux evaluates her past using memories, confessions and music. The play presents what it means to carry the weight of a movement, how art can be used as a form of resistance and the attempt to remain whole when facing constant expectations.
Apphia Campbell took inspiration from the life of famous jazz singer, Nina Simone, in terms of her experiences and influence in battling for racial equality for African Americans. This performance doesn’t only honour Simone’s music but also the movements she inspired and was a part of.
Background of Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon, known as Nina Simone, was born on 21st of February 1933 in Tyron, North Carolina. During her youth, her family home was filled with music and her mother, Mary Kate Irvin, encouraged her pursuit in music. However, her mother didn’t approve of nonreligious music like blues and jazz. Simone took piano lessons as a child and by the age of six was performing during church services.
Dreaming about becoming a classical pianist, she attended Julliard in New York in the 1950s but had to leave due to financial reasons and sought admission to Curtis institute of Music in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, she was rejected and she later viewed this setback as being related to racial discrimination. To earn for a living, she played piano, sang in clubs and formed her alias ‘Nina Simone’. Nina means ‘little one’ and Simone was borrowed from the French actress Simone Signoret. Her shows uniquely drew from classical training, gospel roots, jazz phrasing and raw emotional honesty, making it difficult to be categorised.
Nina Simone was labelled as a jazz vocalist, but she often drew away from the label, seeing it as a reflection of her race rather than her musical style and training. She identified as a folk singer, using a style that mixed blues, gospel, pop and others. She crossed between genres as a singer and pianist, but her classical background remains important as part of her musical identity.
In 1962 she took part in the American Society of African Culture conference in Lagos, Nigeria, leading her to become more in the Civil Rights Movement. Simone used her music to speak out of African American struggles. An example of this is when she sang ‘Mississippi Goddam’ at a concert in 1968, just a couple days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Her performances were political acts, not just concerts, highlighting how music can carry the weight of justice. She was largely associated with Black nationalism and Black Power movements due to her activism and influence during her career.
Simone suffered downsides within the closing chapters of her career and life. She experienced loneliness and alienation within her identity and origins which could have been affected by her bipolar diagnosis. She was heartbroken from the lack of improvement in regard to civil rights, faced backlash and lost supporters. The lack of show bookings caused her to be affected by poverty. Eventually, she somewhat rebuilt her career and began taking medicine to treat her mental illness but remained out of control in terms of her emotions. Despite this turbulence, in her autobiography she mentions that she has no regrets. She remains one of the most memorable artists who transformed her artistry into activism, creating music about Black pride and the anger towards racial injustice.
The influence of Nina Simone in Black Is The Colour Of My Voice
Alike Simone, Mena Boudreaux undergoes the journey of transforming from a young piano prodigy to a renowned vocalist. The play reveals the spirit, struggle and strength of artists whose works of art can be used as weapons for justice.
Alongside this, the play includes various pieces of work by Nina Simone. Her well-known songs such as: Feeling Good, Sinnerman, I Put a Spell on You and Four Women are all performed live on stage. The performance blurs the division between theatre and concert, and between personal grief and political protest, forming a: "Moving portrayal of determination and survival" – Times ★★★★