There is both absurdity and anarchy in Mustapha Matura’s comedy Playboy of the West Indies now adapted into a musical and premiered at Birmingham Rep as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival.

When a ragged stranger stumbles into the rum bar in the Trinidadian village of Mayaro he admits to having ‘chopped’ and killed his father with a machete in the sugar cane fields. He is now in hiding and appeals to the villagers for help. While most sane people would immediately call the police or chase the stranger away, the villagers instead are beguiled by his words and the stranger becomes Ken, the centre of their village life.

Ken’s advent to the village stirs up their usual lives - for no-one more than Peggy, whose drunkard father owns the rum bar. Accustomed to the daily drudge of working in the bar and promised in marriage to the prosperous but dull and stupid Stanley, Peggy suddenly discovers there may be a whole new life for her with Ken.

Played by Gleanne Purcell-Brown, Peggy wins our sympathy from the outset as she busies herself in the bar while her father and his friends drink away their days. In a society where she seems to have little choices, it soon becomes clear that she is the strongest character in the bar. This is shown with great comedy when the villagers feel themselves under threat and turn to her to face the danger.

Durone Stokes plays a quietly-spoken Ken who seems anything but a ruthless killer as he thanks Peggy for a peaceful sleep on a pile of rice sacks and then charms her with his vows of true love.

Much of the comedy comes from the characters around these two, many of whom draw on aspects of caricature to emphasise the humour. McCallam Connell’s drunken father Mikey is such a boozer he cannot attend a wake without fortifying himself with rum beforehand and has to be brought back in a wheelbarrow. Derek Elroy’s Stanley is so cowardly he will hide behind a woman when the going gets tough. Angela Wynter’s Mama Benin is the village obeah, or wise woman, and she is so wily she will creep back into the rum shop to see Ken as soon as Peggy’s back is turned.

Natalie Pryce’s costumes help highlight these characteristics with Peggy in her practical dress, Mama Benin parrot-like in her brightly coloured ensemble and Stanley always smartly turned out in suit and hat.

Directed by Nicolas Kent, Clement Ishmael and Dominique Le Gendre, there is a gentle humour to all of the characterisations so that the audience can go with the flow – because when a second stranger appears with a bloody bandage around his head shouting for his son Ken, the story becomes even crazier.

The current production is a musical adaptation of Mustapha Matura’s 1984 comedy which, in turn, was based on J M Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. Trinidad-born Matura was keen to move the drama to the island where he grew up and this musical production adds a rhythm and vibrancy to that story. Composed by Ishmael and Le Gendre, the score is a blend of calypso and Caribbean beats which will have audience members wanting to join the party.

Much of the action takes place in the rum shop, designed by Michael Taylor, although there is a brief scene where the carnival atmosphere bursts onto the stage, reminding us that the shop is a microcosm for all of the village.

Keen to ensure the show has the spirit of the Caribbean, the production uses Trinidadian accents and elements of Creole which roots the story in the island but can be hard to understand at times. There is a balance needed here between authenticity and comprehension and I’m not convinced the balance is always achieved.

However, the main sense of the story is clear and is backed up by lively songs and memorable characters. Matura, who died in 2019, had wanted to see his play turned into a musical and this production refreshes his story, creating a new version for today.

Four stars

Reviewed by Diane Parkes at The Rep, Birmingham on Wednesday 15 June where the production continues to show until Sat 2 July.