Planet Notion - The Harder They Come. Playhouse Theatre. London.

The giant-spliff-touting, rastafari-coloured, soul-shaking theatre production of Perry Henzell’s ‘The Harder They Come,’ running at the Playhouse Theatre until 13th September, is essential entertainment and not just for anyone looking to get lifted; if you can locate your sense of humour and your heart, this is a cathartic kind of show that manages to unearth joy even under the very influence of death. Aspiring reggae star, lover, rebel and ganja-dealer, Ivan, originally played by Jimmy Cliff in the 1972 Jamaican film, here locates himself in the elastic limbs and tremendous lungs of Rolan Bell. Bell leads a carefully selected cast, pitting the might of their awesome reggae and gospel songs against a plot of conflict and spiralling chaos – we are asked to wiggle in our seats to classics like ‘Higher And Higher’ and ‘Pressure Drop,’ against the play’s actual trajectory towards violence and death. But then that was – still is – the power of reggae music, repackaging menacing imagery amid upbeat melody and booty-movin’ riddims: ‘Walkin’ down the road / With a pistol in your waist / Johnny you’re too bad…’ An even better conundrum is queuing for the toilet in one of the West End’s most esteemed theatres, and hearing Bob Marley through the speakers; dancing along in a standing ovation to some of the tunes that propelled black music further, in a building that was built to be bastion of white culture; being enlightened by Ivan’s sidekick that the interval is in fact ‘A fifteen minute ganja break.’ Jah be praised!