Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Blackbox
Andy Jordan Productions and Hindsight Productions
Genre: New Writing, Spoken Word, Theatre
Venue: Belly Button at Underbelly, Cowgate
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Henry ‘Box’ Brown narrates the circumstances of his life which led to his miraculous escape from slavery. As Brown pushes back against the confines of his persecution, this production challenges the confines of typical theatrical conventions.
Review
After a successful run of Dreamscape last year, writer and director Rickerby Hinds has returned to the Edinburgh Fringe with Blackbox, an adaptation of Henry ‘Box’ Brown’s life story and eventual daring escape from slavery in the American south. The play mostly takes shape as Henry himself (played by Josiah Alpher) recounting his story as one long monologue, with elements of illusion magic, music, hip-hop, and greek chorus-style support from a versatile background character known as “Spirit” (played by Jada Evelyn Ramsey).
Blackbox promises an interesting and unique blend of genres. The magic acts were interspersed well and were carefully blended into the main monologue so that they enhanced his points, not distracting from them. They were simple, well-executed, and relevant. However, the play may be different to what audiences at the Fringe are expecting. The story was mostly spoken out rather than acted out. This format lent itself well to the spoken word and hip-hop elements of the show, but it made the story difficult to follow at times.
Though the format of the show was different than expected, the execution was excellent. Both actors had great stage presence, though Henry’s ‘Virginian’ accent never really locked in. The show’s design is very unforgiving in this regard, as Alpher essentially spoke for an hour straight with little to no breaks, and very little back and forth with his co-star. This would make it extremely difficult to maintain an accent, and it is a credit to Alpher’s ability that he never faltered elsewhere.
Ramsey as ‘Spirit’ was absolutely exceptional. Her physical acting was dancerly, but impactful. It was an excellent support to Alpher, never distracting, and always exactly what it needed to be. Her ability to all but disappear from view while still standing on the stage, and then make herself seen again when they wanted us to see her, was mind-bending. Though she had few lines, her vocal acting and singing were also excellent.
Though the show’s technical elements were often a highlight, the sound balancing was a weakness. During an interlude about a slave insurrection, there was gospel music and a dramatic change in lighting, which was a great way to switch up the tone and format of the story. Unfortunately, the gospel music was too loud, and I couldn’t understand anything he was saying. During the rest of the performance, when Spirit and Henry were speaking over each other, it makes sense to be the same volume so that the audience can hear bits and pieces of each. However, when Spirit would sing in the background while Henry spoke, it was difficult to hear his lines sometimes.
Blackbox is an entertaining and educational watch which tells an important story about a man who deserves to be known. Though the experimental manner of storytelling in Blackbox has a mixture of triumphs and downfalls, the experimentation is in itself a triumph; it is indicative of Hinds’ vibrant impact on the theatre scene. I am excited to see what he brings to Edinburgh Fringe next year.
