The playwright Varaidzo spoke to Damon Fairclough about Syncopated, a new play co-produced by Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Talawa Theatre Company.

 

How would you describe your new play, Syncopated? 

It’s a kind of ‘meet cute’ (a first encounter between two characters in romantic fiction) between the characters of Him and Her, who are two young people who meet on a bench at Liverpool docks. They’re both searching for something, but they’re strangers to each other. Through their conversation, we learn about them and what it is they’re looking for. 

We find out that Him is trying to write a musical, and through his explanation of that story, we also learn about the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, which was the first band to bring jazz to the British Isles from America. They landed at Liverpool docks in 1919, and the play compares the experiences of those black American musicians, who became celebrities, with what was happening for the black communities in Britain at the time. 

 

Where did this idea come from? 

I moved to Liverpool in 2019 when I was writing my debut novel, Manny and the Baby, which was set in the jazz scene of the 1930s. During my research, I discovered the Southern Syncopated Orchestra – the band that first brought jazz to Liverpool and to Britain. But because they were active in 1919 and my book was set in the 1930s, they were too early to be included in that project. 

I was captivated by their story though, and I knew I wanted to return to it. It seemed to make so much sense for this play because it’s a collaboration between Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, and Talawa Theatre Company who are based in London. I was looking at how the Southern Syncopated Orchestra took jazz across the country, from Liverpool to London and further afield, so that’s why the characters of Him and Her are a Londoner and a Scouser. 

 

What appealed to you about the Southern Syncopated Orchestra story? 

When they toured the UK, during 1919 and the early 1920s, they turned the British music scene on its head. People were so excited by them and their new sound. There are some heartbreaking elements to the story too, and I just felt it was a key moment in our cultural narrative that not many people know about. So much of modern pop music has directly come from that moment.  

 

Syncopated is a co-production between Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Talawa Theatre Company. How did you connect with them? 

Talawa Theatre Company and the Everyman & Playhouse approached me and asked if I’d ever considered writing a play, which I had. They explained about Talawa’s Black Joy season and how they were looking for a play that was heavily to do with music, which is something that my debut novel was about. I realised it was a good opportunity for me to revisit the Southern Syncopated Orchestra idea. 

 

You mix real history with fiction in an interesting way. Why did you take that approach? 

I Want to tell stories of the past in a way that feels honest, but I didn’t want to directly retell the story of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra. I think that story is so important but there’s also a lot more research that needs to be done into it.  

I did want to highlight my own interest in it though, and how it seemed so sad that the story isn’t more widely known. That’s why I’ve got the dual narrative in the play. So while it is about the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, it’s mostly about what that story means to the characters in the modern day – why they’re so curious about it, and why they want to keep it alive. 

 

Your characters meet in Liverpool, and you’ve mentioned you moved here in 2019. What brought you to the city? 

I had family in Liverpool, and I was travelling up a lot from London, where I worked. I spent most of my weekends in Liverpool, and eventually someone said, “You want to be here. Just move here!” So I did. 

I love Liverpool. It just felt like the right place for me to be. I’ve moved around a lot and lived in a lot of different cities in the UK, but I think Liverpool is the city where I immediately felt most at home. 

 

We shouldn’t reveal how it happens, but in the play we meet two more characters don’t we? 

We also explore two characters called Frank and Penny, who exist in the world of 1919. Frank is a musician with the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, and Penny is very much like the character of Her. She’s someone who frequents the docks and is from Liverpool, and her world is turned upside down by the arrival of this musician.  

 

What themes did you want to explore in the play? 

Music is key to the whole play – the power of music for human connection. It also deals with the ways that black people get to exist in the UK, and how that differs depending on where in the UK you’re from, or where you’re from outside of the UK. 

Then there’s the idea of allowing yourself to be open to yourself, and the things that you want and the fear that holds you back. And I do also see it as a love story. It may not be an overt theme but it’s definitely an undercurrent. 

There’s a lot going on! 

 

How would you describe the mood and tone of this play? 

I think it’s a wistful play – a journey across time through the eyes of young black Britons. It’s romantic too – it’s set at dusk, and when I wrote it, that was the vibe I had in mind. It’s the moment when the sun goes down, when we’re between nighttime and daytime, between worlds. It’s about the moment when reality feels ‘thinner’, and you feel that time could be folded on top of itself. 

 

Who do you think will love Syncopated? 

I think anyone interested in history will enjoy it, specifically the interwar period. I also think anyone who enjoys love stories will like it. I wrote it with love story fans in mind because I’m a fan of love stories. 

I think it’s also for anyone who enjoys banter and plays where people are quick with each other – that’s something I tried to do with these characters. And I think also, it’s a great play for people who don’t go to the theatre that often. If anyone is shy about the theatre, I think these characters are very much for people who are shy about enjoying art and being part of art – that’s what the play’s about.