In May 2016., a play that focuses on the life and times of Motown legend Marvin Gaye will be presented in Northampton. Marvin Pentz Gay Jr was an American singer and songwriter who helped to shape Motown’s 1960’s sound. His hits included How Sweet It is, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Sexual Healing, and Let’s Get It On. After years of close cooperation with Marvin Gaye’s relatives, Roy Williams’ Soul will be open next year. According to the BBC, James Dacre (artistic director of Royal and Derngate theatre) stated that “It is a dramatic thriller, but not a musical.” The play will be infused with the energy and spirit of Motown, and it will feature music from that era. The play will take place in Gaye’s Los Angeles home, which he bought for his extended family. How did 18 events unfold in this house? Dacre said: “Whilst this piece examines three generations of an African American post-war family, all roots back to that home and what occurred in the course 18 days beneath that roof.” Gaye was the first Motown artist to flee the control of the production house. Marvin Gaye Senior, his father shot Marvin Gaye fatally in 1984 as he spoke to his mother in their West Adams neighborhood in Los Angeles. He was hit in the heart with the first shot, while the second bullet (at point blank range), struck his left shoulder. It was fatal. Marvin Gaye Senior is placed in handcuffs by a Los Angeles Homicide Detective in 1984 following the fatal shooting. Since that time, many institutions have conferred awards and honours on Gaye, such as the Roll Hall of Fame and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Gaye was once called “The number one purveyors of soul music” by Michael Eric Dyson. He also received the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marvin Gaye’s play debuts in Northampton in May 2016.
