The Flea Theater Presents "Southern Promises" by Thomas Bradshaw - Through April 14th

The Flea Theater, and its resident troupe of young actors known as The Bats, have a reputation for taking bold risks in telling important stories. In their current staging of "Southern Promises" by Thomas Bradshaw, they take that boldness to a chilling extreme in dramatizing the worst rapacious excesses of American slavery. Bradshaw assaults the audience with graphic imagery that limns twin evils. The first evil is the constellation of dehumanizing violence perpetrated by slave owners over their chattel. The second evil is the fig leaf of religious hypocrisy behind which the slave owners hid to justify their inhumanity to men, women,and children of color.

This play is not for the faint of heart. The portrayal of violence and hypocrisy is literally and figuratively naked. Acts of simulated rape are portrayed in agonizing brutality and clarity. In a preamble to the play, each cast member introduces himself/herself and points out that the cast is composed entirely of persons of color. The point being made by the Playwright and Director is that the evils being depicted are not rooted in color, but in the human heart. Under the deft Direction of Niegel Smith, the Flea's Artistic Director, the cast members are uniformly effective. Especially impressive is Shakur Tolliver as Benjamin, the slave whose promised freedom was taken away by his late master's treasonous widow. The master on his deathbed had made his wife promise to flee all of the slaves, but she claimed that he was not in his right mind when he made that demand, and she refused to free them. She, her brother, and her new husband all claimed that they were doing God's will in brutalizing their slaves, misquoting Scripture by claiming that by punishing them, they were saving them from a worse punishment in Hell.

The writing and direction of this raw play are most arresting in the moments of violence, and in the moments when the unctuous misapplication of Scripture screams hypocrisy. Like those who caution that the horrors of the Holocaust must never be forgotten, so too this play reminds us that we must not be allowed to cover over the ugly wounds that still fester from the abuses of slavery and its lingering aftermath.

For those who have the courage to confront the ugly realities of the past, this production os worthy of your consideration.

Shakur Tolliver, Marcus Jones, Jahsiah Rivera, Brittany Zaken, and Yvonne Jessica Pruitt
Southern Promises by Thomas Bradshaw
The Flea Theater
Through April 14thPhoto by Joan Marcus

(Southern Promises plays at The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas Street, through April 14, 2019. The running time is 85 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Mondays at 7, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7, and Sundays at 3. Tickets are $15 - $50 and are available at theflea.org.)

Southern Promises is by Thomas Bradshaw. Directed by Niegel Smith. Set Design by Jason Sherwood. Costume Design by Claudia Brown. Lighting Design by Jorge Arroyo. Sound Design by Fabian Obispo. Hair and Makeup Design by Nikiya Mathis. Violence/Intimacy Choreographer is Rocio Mendez. Stage Manager is Anna Kovacs.

The cast is Adam Coy, Darby Davis, Marcus Jones, Timothy Park, Yvonne Jessica Pruitt, Jahsiah Rivera, Shakur Tolliver, Adrain Washington, and Brittany Zaken.

Content Warning: Please be advised there is physical and sexual violence, full nudity, racial slurs, and a gunshot in Southern Promises.

Enjoy!

Al