Written by Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Chika Ike
Cast: Casey Chapman*, Richard Costes, Jyreika Guest,
Emilie Modaff, Kiayla Ryann*, Max Thomas
On the opening night of Friday January 25, during the show,
Emily Dickinson’s definition of poetry dominated my thoughts about the power of
words and the art of performance: “If I feel physically as if the top of myhead were taken off, I know that is poetry.” As a writer of epic theatre,
believing in the theatre of ideas and the art of thinking,I absolutely cannot
deny profound emotional engagement. I believe the main character, Hester La
Negrita, the mother of five multi-racial children, is a different Mother Courage in her own unique way. As she provides and shares food with her
children, plays with them and tells them stories, I’m reminded of my observations
in Harlem, New York, the streets of Chicago, and real incidents in Cairns Australia and many other places. So often the truth is unseen or misjudged by many people.
Such a socially responsible play gives me hope and inspires me
deeply. That’s the way I would write
plays, I would see the world, I would scream for empathy, I would communicate
and I would understand and learn about human conditions.
The show began highlighting the word “Slut” on the wall.
Hester’s teenage son, tries hard to wipe it out. A Billy Club which was stolen
by one of her sons became a part of Hester’s identity until the end when a pair
of high heeled shoes hidden in the corner of the room were revealed as part of
her identity as well… A foreshadowing…
My curiosity was aroused, intellectually and emotionally.
As the play progresses, it gradually introduces the harsh
reality of Hester’s illiterate, impoverished life as a single mother. Her
expressions of love, sensuality and need for being acknowledged as a human
being are explored through scenes with the fathers of her children. The doctor,
the preacher, the first love and the ménage à trois with the social worker’s
husband. The encounters with the Doctor and the reverend/preacher are the most
provocative scenes. That’s where we experience explicitly how certain women are
horrendously exploited; and physically and emotionally subjugated. That’s where
we learn how the doctor disdains her, takes advantage of her sexually, culminating
in the ultimate violation of her womanhood. Robbed of her identity she is left
to endure pain through the rest of her life.
The doctor wrote SPAY on a piece of paper and looked at
Hester with contempt! I heard a fairly
loud gasp of horror from an audience member behind me!
Amiga Gringa from the same ghetto, who sells her children in
order to survive, constantly encourages Hester to do the same thing. She speaks
humorously about how everything in capitalism is about consumerism. Everything
is for selling and buying and that’s the only way to stay alive!
In the confinement of the intimate space of the theatre, I was “so cold no fire could warm me”.
Bearing the pain through struggling, the high spirited
Hester, loses her health and strength, and becomes mentally frustrated and
despondent. The marriage dream scene beautifully portrays her fantasies about
marriage in which her first love unexpectedly appears. That’s when she wears
her high heeled shoes for the first time in her life. Shoes she hid for a special day!
The play combines provocative dialogue with unique
soliloquies, where the fathers of her children and the social worker/welfare
lady tell their selfish truths about her and express their own situations. With
shattered dreams, when her teenage son questions Hester about being a slut, her
hopes are ended. That’s the time the Billy Club is used!
Chika Ike with her deep understanding of the play, is
enormously successful in bringing the words into life on an intimate stage
where the audience could be a part of the larger experience. The cast, most with
double roles, enhanced the drama. Jyreika Guest is enchanting. She acts with a
blend of Hester’s different characteristics; courage, strength, motherly
expressions, honesty, sensuality, generosity and humor. Her dance like
movements and the roughness at the same time make her unforgettable!
Jyreika
Guest
I believe in Red Tape Theatre! I believe in their mission in engaging people in a free
exchange of ideas and their offering such socially conscious plays without the
financial stress of ticket. I understand the need for such theatre from the
core of my being!
Thanks to the entire crew.
Pictures are courtesy of Red Tape Theatre
