In Red and Brown Water
The
play, In Red and Brown Water, was
easily the most unique play I have ever seen.
I do not have much experience with viewing plays but this one in
particular certainly grabbed my attention and kept it throughout the entire performance. The play consisted of a few different main
characters with very different goals and personalities.
Oya,
the main character, is a young girl, probably around the age of eighteen, who
is a star runner and is constantly struggling to figure out who she really
loves and wants to be with. Throughout
the entire performance, it is implied that she is truly in love with Shongo, a
womanizer who acts very smoothly towards Oya.
Shonga, however, joins the military, so he is constantly coming in and
out of Hoya’s life. Oyas mother, mama
Moja, tries to convince Oya not to give Shongo the time of day. Her part is cut short though as she passes
away fairly early in the play. Oya’s extremely
outgoing aunt then replaces mama Moja as Oya’s mother figure. After turning down a running scholarship, Oya
spends most of the play trying to figure out who she loves more, her husband,
or Shongo.
The
most important thing in the story line for the main characters is who Oya truly
loved. Many men wanted to be with her,
yet she could never really figure out who she really loved, until it was too
late. She did not end up with the man
she really loved (Shongo) and this led to her ultimate demise due to her
depression. Her scholarship to the college seems at first to be the most
important thing but then it becomes very clear that where her love falls is the
real problem in her life.
I was
most compelled by how even though the storyline took place in the projects, all
of the characters dressed and at some points acted as if they were part of an African
tribe. Throughout the performance there
would be points where the musicians would play very tribal-like beats and the
actors would dance exactly as you would expect tribal people to dance like. This made the play seem as though there was
an underlying meaning. I felt like the
director was trying to argue that these same problems occurred many years ago
in these tribes as well as today.
There aren’t
many criticisms I could make of this play except that it was a little confusing
for a good part of the beginning. It
took me a while to actually grasp exactly what was going on. However, overall I felt the play was very
well acted and directed.
This
was a very unique play for me and one of only a few I’ve seen. The only other one I remember is Your Welcome America where Will Ferrell
played George W. Bush, so its needless to say that this was a much more unique
and cultural experience. I would recommend
this play to anyone, and I feel everyone could enjoy the experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment