Reviews are in for Blood of My Blood, the debut play by Joy Nesbitt, which has opened in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre. It moves between a slave cabin on a South Carolina plantation in 1862 and the same cabin today, rented out as a holiday let, where a young Black Londoner, Talulah, hopes to reach her enslaved ancestor Ginnie. The critics are unusually united: every one of them gives it four stars. They agree that it is far funnier than its subject suggests, they praise Tatenda Shamiso’s production and a five-strong company led by Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ as Ginnie, and the reservations that do surface concern the premise and the closing stretch rather than the play as a whole.
The verdict: eight reviews in so far, and all eight are four-star notices, for an average of exactly 4 out of 5. The common ground is the cast and the comedy; where critics hedge, it is over the supernatural device and an ending some find less sure than what comes before.
What are critics saying about BLOOD OF MY BLOOD?
The Standard
"Challenging debut play about the legacy of slavery"
Reviewer: Nick Curtis
Nick Curtis finds the set-up somewhat hard to swallow, but says that a play about such deep historic wrongs turns out to be very funny, especially in its present-day scenes.
"After the strained weakness of the setup, the mid-section of this play bristles with ideas and hard questions."
He feels the writing wobbles again near the end before it reaches a solid resolution, and gives the real credit to the actors, from Adékọluẹ́jọ to a volatile Patrick Vaill.
Time Out
"Impressively ambitious, surprisingly funny debut play about a Black woman who communes with her slave ancestor"
Reviewer: Caroline McGinn
Caroline McGinn lists everything the play packs in, from cringe comedy and cultural satire to pathos and the supernatural, and admires how often it sidesteps the expected.
"Ultimately, it’s the complex relationships between the women that sing, in both generations."
She would have liked the modern strand to push Jodie Campbell’s Talulah harder, but calls it a worthy winner of the playwriting award behind it.
LondonTheatre.co.uk
"This striking new play tackles the legacy of slavery"
Reviewer: Julia Rank
Julia Rank hears an intriguing new voice, and finds the present-day strand a frequently very funny comedy of manners about plantations recast as holiday lets and party venues.
"…some of the supernatural elements are a touch contrived, but the power of the work shines through."
She singles out Natalie Pryce’s naturalistic design and ends keen to see what Nesbitt writes next.
West End Best Friend
Reviewer: Beatriz Ferreira
Beatriz Ferreira is taken with the idea of a place holding on to the lives lived in it, and with lighting and sound that build an increasingly uneasy supernatural mood.
"Blood of My Blood remains a thoughtful and atmospheric piece of theatre."
She finds that some of the jokes settle for the conventional and that the material asks for more restraint from its performers, but feels the second act gathers real momentum.
Afridiziak
Reviewer: Mark Arbouine
Mark Arbouine asks the audience to accept an unusual premise and rewards those who do, calling the play intelligent and thought-provoking on family, inheritance and guilt.
"The five-person cast is uniformly assured, bringing characters from two very different periods to life."
He praises Nesbitt’s respectful handling of conjure, dialogue that is at times laugh-out-loud funny, and direction that keeps the two timelines flowing.
London Unattached
"Antebellum ancestor drama powerfully evokes the complications of legacy"
Reviewer: Mike Stone
Mike Stone admires how quickly the play establishes its symbolism, and the nuance it brings to the relationship at the heart of the 1862 scenes.
"Tatenda Shamiso’s direction is excellent and despite the pressure of doubling and time slip, always felt tight."
He finds the ending a little diffuse and wishes the writing had let itself go further, but rates Hannah Morrish’s comedy and Pryce’s set and costumes highly.
Production photographs by Marc Brenner.
London Box Office
Reviewer: Stuart King
Stuart King sets out the dual timeline with care and finds the characters and performances sensitively drawn, the writing taut and the direction well considered.
"Irrespective of the headline subject matter, I thoroughly enjoyed BLOOD OF MY BLOOD."
He sums it up as a compelling and thought-provoking evening in the smaller of the Royal Court’s two spaces.
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Holly O’Mahony, four stars, "funny, gut-wrenching play about intergenerational history by rising playwright Joy Nesbitt"), whose review sits behind a registration wall.
For more from this week’s openings, see our roundups for An Oak Tree at The Other Palace and Franz & Marie at the Charing Cross Theatre.
Blood of My Blood is at the Royal Court Theatre’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs until Saturday 7 November 2026.
