The Young Vic is one of those theatres in London where you are sure to encounter bold directing, great acting and new writing as well as revivals that are given a new flavour. The 2000 play by Stephen Adly Guirgis “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train” is given a worrying and relevant new dimension, giving voices to underrepresented actors on stage and showing police brutality in US prisons.
Director Kate Hewitt and her set designer Magda Willi take us to a prison on New York’s Rikers Island where instead of seeing bars and iron everywhere, rooms and cells are separated by large glass windows and doors, which move up and down the traverse stage as the scenes progress.
The story introduces us to Angel Cruz (played by quite angelic face Ukweli Roach), who is awaiting a verdict after he is suspected of shooting a priest in the buttocks. Every day, he is allowed one hour on the roof to take in fresh air and light. That’s where he meets Lucius Jenkins (Oberon K. A. Adjepong) who, while Angel is not really looking for a new friend in this prison, becomes a voice he gets used to. Lucius killed eight people, is very religious and believes he is truly loved by God, at least that is what he says. The prisoners are bullied by guard Valdez (Joplin Sibtain) in cringeworthy scenes of psychological violence.
