There is a potent moment in Recognition when a student at a prestigious British music college confronts her tutor about the lack of Black British composers on the syllabus. Why is the canon so white, she asks, and throws out names of some who might feature. Among them is Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a Victorian of dual heritage who lived in Croydon and earned global celebrity as the “African Mahler”.
Co-created by writer Amanda Wilkin and director Rachael Nanyonjo, this story of what happened to Coleridge-Taylor (Paul Adeyefa) is narrated by the student, Song (Kibong Tanji), and enacted in parallel scenes. Structurally, it is reminiscent of Jasmine Lee Jones’s Curious: we see how the story of a past, lone, burning talent affects and inspires a present-day character.
