REVIEW: FAILURE PROJECT by Yolanda Mercy at Soho Theatre until 14 June 2025
‘Failure project is a risky, daring and brave address to the world' ★★★★
The minimalist set design of a solo chair in the middle of the stage, underneath which lies a bouquet of loose flowers, some also scattered across the black box stage, draws the audience into an almost sacred ambiance and atmosphere. A soft spoken voiceover opened up the one woman show, followed by the entrance of the playwright, actor and co-director, Yolanda Mercy, under the co-direction of Joseph Barnes Phillips.
Mercy portrays Ade, a South Londoner of Nigerian heritage with a gentle soul, sharing her life story, almost as a stand-up comedian. She addresses and interacts with ease, the many strangers, acquaintances, friends and family, and she dares to be open hearted about her experience of being, or of becoming a successful writer. Although Ade started as an actor herself, performing in several venues including her favourite Soho open mic nights, she found success as a writer with an agent and received several writing commissions. However the pressure of the industry demands her to write black stereotype characters, which led her to frustration.
Her second script ‘Day Girl’ portraying the life of a black girl winning a scholarship in a private school, attracted the interest of a renowned theatre. Ade is over the moon but when the decision by the programmers to cast another actor to play the part of the lead, someone who is more influential than Ade herself, that sinking feeling of erasure and being invisible came as a stab in the back.
Through the mix of comedy and silent repressed anger, Ade watched her script being performed on stage by the influencer actor, using words that were not even written by the writer. A horrifying feeling all too common to the zillions of playwrights out there, whose written words have been manipulated, changed, erased and edited to fit in with what the industry wants to hear, or what they think the audience wants to pay for. Be wary, the performing arts industry in reality is not one of freedom of expression and creativity but more so, a controlling commercial manipulative mechanism whose aim is to sell tickets and make profits.
Ade commutes to Norwich regularly to visit her mother at her childhood home and hopes to find solace at a difficult time of her career, when her shows got cancelled. Instead of finding encouragement and support, she comes face to face with the realities of being the eldest daughter “who does not drive a car”, unlike the younger sibling, and being the one who is in a creative profession that is not sustainable. Mercy performs several characters, with great characterisation, the highlight being expressing the mannerism and accent of her Nigerian mother. Her prowess at storytelling supported by a wide selection of special sound effects and voice overs was so relatable that it was easy to forget that we were watching a one person show for the 75 minutes run. One cannot help but have empathy for all the playwright creatives who are struggling in a very competitive arts industry, but continue to press on only because they have a story to share. Failure project is a risky, daring and brave address to the world that there is space for kindness in such a cold-hearted industry.
Following a critically acclaimed and sell out Edinburgh Fringe in 2024, BAFTA nominee Yolanda Mercy is touring her self-penned work Failure Project across the UK including Harrogate Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Soho Theatre, London from the 27 May to 14 June and the Norwich Theatre Stage Two on 20 June.
Failure Project
Soho Theatre, London
21 Dean St, London W1D 3NE
Tuesday 17 May - Saturday 14 June, 6:45pm.
Tickets: £11-£20
Age 14+
Running time 75 minutes
https://sohotheatre.com/events/failure-project/
Writer & co-Director & Performer: Yolanda Mercy
Co-Director: Joseph Barnes Philips
