The Harder They Come...

The Missus is a big reggae fan so when she asked me to come to the Barbican and see the stage version of the 1972 Jimmy Cliff film The Harder They Come I was not totally enamoured with the prospect. But I went along and it was one of the most joyful theatrical experiences I’ve attended in 30 years…

The story is pretty much as in the film: a Jamaican country boy heads to the bright lights of the big city to fulfil his dream of making it as singer. He falls for the daughter of a preacher but also falls into the drugs trade to secure enough money to cut his first record.

The record is a hit but he finds himself going up against the record company boss who also owns the local record stores and radio stations in order to get his record played. He also rebels against the drug cartel by demanding better wages for himself and his friends.

With such powerful enemies he soon becomes an outlaw and, even though his music unites the downtrodden populace, he values his own notoriety over his life and subsequently reaches a sticky end…

In itself the story is nothing spectacular but the ensemble singing and dancing of the cast is utterly infectious. The spartan staging also means very little gets in the way of the music, the dancing or the narrative action and it’s one of those rare times when three hours seems to pass in two.

It’s true that the pace slackens a little in the final 30 minutes and it could probably do with an edit but that’s minor stuff. Theatre Royal Stratford East, who also produced the fabulous The Big Life (which also transferred to the West End) about the first people arriving on the Windrush, have hit gold yet again.

And even though it may seem a dated piece what it has to say about poverty breeding violence and the aspiration for celebrity and notoriety over decency and dignity is massively relevant now, especially with what’s happening with youth gangs terrorising housing estates in London.

Theatre that entertains, theatre that matters and theatre that makes you think. Superb stuff.