In Black is the Color of My Voice, Apphia Campbell provides a compelling dramatisation of the life of Nina Simone.

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Written and performed by Apphia Campbell, this one-woman play began touring the UK after selling out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014. It is currently based in Trafalgar Studios, London until early March.

There may be some initial confusion for audiences. The name ‘Nina Simone’ is not uttered once throughout the show. In fact, the central protagonist calls herself ‘Mena Bordeaux’. According to the brochure, the production is ‘inspired by the life of Nina Simone’, rather than an explicit bio-musical. Yet, whatever the reason may be for this parallel character, it is impossible not to see Black is the Color of My Voice as a story about Miss Simone.

With a few pieces of furniture and a scattering of small props, the set is bare and claustrophobic. The narrative begins with Mena Bordeaux housebound and under medical instruction to cleanse herself of booze and cigarettes. Dressed in a dashiki and wearing Simone’s characteristic head-wrap, Campbell begins her absorbing monologue.

Seventy minutes in duration, Campbell sustains a sensitive and deeply moving performance. Through her writing and her performance, she avoids reductionist notions of Simone as an erratic, troubled genius. Campbell’s book covers Simone’s years as a child prodigy, and her journey to becoming the voice of the civil rights movement. She depicts a woman enthralled by the intricate melodies of Johann Sebastian Bach, who finds a freedom and other-worldliness through music. Her strained relationship with her pious parents, as well as her romantic woes, also filter into the narrative.

The context of American racism and segregation magnifies as the narrative progresses. Initially perplexed as to why her mother and father cannot sit in the front row at one of her first concerts, Campbell’s character becomes increasingly cognisant of her blackness and its implications.

The production’s most gratifying moments come when ‘Mena Bordeaux’ decides to harness her music as a tool of social justice, rejecting the advice of her politically apathetic parents. Indeed, Simone used her musical gifts to espouse messages of resistance and liberation – culminating in iconic civil rights anthems such as ‘Mississippi Goddamn’ and ‘To Be Young Gifted and Black’. Campbell navigates this with gravitas, and avoids sanitising Simone’s political views.

Campbell also draws ably upon Simone’s catalogue to punctuate the key moments in the narrative. The music is cued skilfully, and Campbell’s rich, unaffected singing illuminates the range of her talents.

Soul Sessions

After select performances of Black is the Color of My Voice, Campbell delivers her cabaret homage to Nina Simone with Soul Sessions. With good piano accompaniment from Tim Shaw, Campbell uses this cabaret as a showcase for her vocal talents.

If somewhat over-reliant on audience participation, Campbell performs a selection of songs from Simone’s repertoire including ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’, ‘To Love Somebody’, and ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’. Soul Sessions is lighter in tone than the play which precedes it, but has no shortage of powerful moments. Campbell’s performance of ‘Four Women’ – a song in which Simone laments Eurocentric conceptions of beauty – is performed with visceral emotion and haunting staging.