BlacBrik and Fundamentally Dance, who produce them, have a major hit on their hands! The Brown Suite premiered at London’s Richmond Theatre to a packed house and rapturous applause and rightly sent us all home in a buoyant mood. Most exciting is that this dynamic choreographic duo are pretty much at the beginning of their journey, and if this is an indication of what’s to come, then we all have a great deal to look forward to.
Nahum McLean and Darius Drooh, co-founders of BlacBrik, had been ruminating about The Brown Suite since they created a short piece, Death of the Bachelors for Ballet Nights in April 2025. At that time, it was clear that they had a distinctive voice as well as a style of movement that incorporated the grace of ballet, the groove of jazz, the funk of hip-hop and a contemporary twist that is very much their own hallmark. The combination of all the above was in evidence throughout The Brown Suite.
The narrative was simple to follow – six friends meet up in 1970s New York to go dancing. Enter the wonderful music of James Brown, Etta James and Sam Cooke. For those of us of a certain age in the audience, we were right back there. The songs echoed evolving relationships, flirtations, misunderstandings, love, jealousy, frustration, breakups and reconciliation.
The whole piece was slickly presented with extraordinary sets and lighting design by Joshie Harriette and Maybelle Laye’s evocative costumes. Even the programme was something of a collector’s item, designed to look like an album cover.
The cast of seven could not have been more ideally suited to their individual characters. Lukas Hunt as Marcus, a towering presence, with smouldering sex appeal and excellent partnering, lured Leila Wright’s sultry Denise into his heart during a series of smoking hot duets. The two of them locked pelvises but somehow managed to maintain beautiful arabesque lines throughout the entire seduction.
McLean as Victor had a more volatile relationship with Monique Jonas’ Angela. Between them they carried some of the most explosive scenes, followed by deep reflection. Drooh as Ray and Hugo Bragg as Julian were adorable buddies and the seventh character was danced by Joshi Martina, an immensely appealing DJ, Mr New York (with jaw-dropping buttock twitching) who really only came into his own at the end.
All the music was very familiar and if its popularity has diminished over the intervening decades, The Brown Suite is surely the perfect vehicle to revive it.
Sam Cooke’s Fool’s Paradise and Etta James’ I Just Want to Make Love to You seemed to ignite nostalgia among the audience. James Brown’s I Got You (I Feel Good), It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World and Night Train found me clutching my seat to stop me leaping up and joining in. In the second half, Brown’s Please, Please, Please was the backdrop to Ray, Julian and Marcus advising Victor on how to repair his relationship with Angela. A superbly comical and elaborate (with a serious theme) piece of choreography that had me laughing out loud.
One of the most successful aspects of The Brown Suite is the way McLean and Drooh built the choreography to a tremendous crescendo. At the start we were given tasters of sensuous hip flexing, always rhythmical, always energetic, extremely inviting. By the end it’s incendiary. The dancers spoke volumes with the pace and power of their movements, the rhythm bursting from their bodies and souls with limitless stamina. While it’s all infectious and impactful, and in spite of obvious technical prowess, the best thing of all was the plethora of charisma, magnetism, whatever you call it. I just couldn’t get enough of it and do I want to see it again? Of course I do. A potent mix of zeal, vigour and originality, The Brown Suite is now touring the UK.
