REVIEW - Tambo & Bones is such a unique show - You’ll be truly missing out if you don’t go and see it!

On Thursday, we were invited to HOME, Manchester to watch Of Tambo and Bones. Read what our reviewer Abi Holden had to say about this fantastic show...

Tambo & Bones has arrived at HOME in Manchester and, my goodness, what an absolute wonder. All I knew, going into the audience, was that it was about two black men stuck inside a minstrel show. It was that and so much more. There was a buzz in the audience as they waited to see what was going to unfurl.

The first half of the show was split in two. In the first part, Tambo (Clifford Samuel; 2:22 A Ghost Story, McMafia) just wants a nap under a large tree, whilst Bones (Daniel Ward; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Rebellion) wants to make a dime. In order to try and get the audience to pay up, he tells a sob story. When that doesn’t work, he tries a knife trick, which ends in him stabbing himself. Tambo helps and then tries to win the audience over with intellect and history. They then realise that they don’t know anything apart from wanting to nap or make a dime and spot the writer (a puppet in the front row). They drag the puppet from its seat and beat it, pulling it apart to find loads of dimes inside. Having their dimes and wanting to break out of the minstrel show that the writer has put them in, the curtain falls. The second part of the show is set out like a rap concert, with Tambo wanting to change the world and Bones wanting to make more money. It then tells the tale, with projections of newsreaders and a spoof of a certain American president, of a civil war in America, where the BAME community rise up against the government and take over.

The second half of the show opens with the announcement 400 years later projected on a screen. Tambo and Bones are revealed to have been characters being played by actors Clifford and Daniel and they finish the telling of Tambo and Bones’ story through a dramatic reading. Wanting the audience to have a visual aide, Daniel brings on a pair of robots that act out what they are saying. When it gets to the end of the tale, where Tambo has caused the genocide of all white people through the use of robots, and Bones is heartbroken, and repeats ‘I’m a real person’ to himself. We find out that the whole play has been a celebration of the genocide of white people and the victory that was won in the civil war. Once the tale has finished being told, the robots begin to speak, using the same ‘I’m a real person’. In a frenzy, Daniel and Clifford begin attacking the robots, only for the robots to end up dead.

The whole journey that the audience was taken on was actually insane. It was such a strange but wonderful experience and journey. From the costumes, that gave old-worldy to rap gods in the first half, to the incredible lighting, that really made you feel like you were witnessing a concert, director Matthew Xia has created something that I will never forget. The piece has got me asking questions that I would have never, in a million dreams, have even thought about before. It is surreal and thought-provoking, in the best way possible. It educates, entertains and emotes all at the same time. This show is given the age rating of 14+ and for all of the right reasons. The way it deals with things is real and not suitable for a younger audience. It also contains a lot of strong language and mature themes.

Clifford as Tambo was simply wonderful. From the moment he entered the stage, at the beginning, when he was trying to get a fake tree to grow, to the end, when he ran off the stage, without giving a bow, I was mesmerised. The different layers of Tambo that he portrayed were just perfect. He kept the energy of the piece going and played the ‘straight one’ of the double act, in the first part, amazingly, and shone in his comedic moments. Daniel as Bones was phenomenal. He played the heartbreaking and the funny seamlessly and was an incredible rapper. He seemed at home in the play, as though he loved what he was doing and the thing he was portraying. The pair of them together were just pure magic.

I honestly can’t quite emphasise enough how powerful this play is. It’s simple and complex and beautiful and sad all at the same time and I am thrilled that I have been able to see it. I loved that the audience was invited to remain in the auditorium for up to 15 minutes after the end of the play, in order to digest what they had just seen, with the dark topic discussions and also the visual of the robots being attacked. A lot of people simply sat in silence for a few moments, letting the experience soak into their pores. I was definitely one of those people. I don’t think I’ll ever witness anything quite like this again and it is something that I will never forget. For years to come, I know that this will remain etched into my brain.

Tambo & Bones is at HOME in Manchester until Saturday 5th April. There is nothing quite like this play anywhere else on earth. You’ll be truly missing out if you don’t go.

WE SCORE TAMBO & BONES...




Tambo & Bones is on at HOME, Manchester until Saturday 5th April 2025



BUY TICKETS TO SEE TAMBO & BONES