If you were raised Caribbean, you can bet that when you heard the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” “sufferation” was sure to follow. Consequently, when the first few bars of the song filtered through the intimate Soho Rep (46 Walker St.) at the outset of the highly praised Black British play, “Born Bad,” by Debbie Tucker Green, those in the know knew we were about to experience some grief!
And what dark sorrow. Wrapped in artistic brilliance, who would have guessed for all the jerk chicken in Jamaica that the timely multifaceted topics of this play would be openly dramatized on the world’s stage, Off-Broadway in New York City! What? Incest, rape, child molestation, homosexuality–all of this happening in a Caribbean-American home while de mudder and de father just remain seated in dey chair? But eh eh! In the Caribbean Diaspora community these topics are seldom discussed. Instead, the victims are told to “shut up yu mouth” and asked: “What do you? Yer wan start scandal and bring shame on de family?”
Well, despite the horror of scandal and shame, green’s meticulous work is a sharp cutlass that cuts through these hushed-up atrocities, placing them smack dab center stage in this hard-hitting family shocker that garnered rave reviews when it made its U.S premiere on April 7 following previews that began March 31.
“Born Bad,” the winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for best new British play, is brilliantly directed here by Leah C. Gardner, who uses a minimal set designed by Mimi Lien with 6 chairs to allow the actors the flexibility of moving about as if they were playing musical chairs. In essence, the play unfolds like an intricate game of charades. The lighting design by Michael Chybowski serves to faintly illuminate and at the same time mask the uncertainty of this seemingly ordinary family trying to figure out the truth about sexual occurrences that took place in the past, though each family member has a different viewpoint about what happened.
The disturbing storyline is played out by Mum (Elain R. Graham), the joyless matriarch of the family who finds solace in singing, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” To absolve her sins, and perhaps those of her husband, she quietly takes the verbal abuse of Dawta (Heather Alicia Simms), her angry, voluptuous eldest daughter who wants to find out why she was the one singled out for sexual abuse.
Initially, Mum takes her daughter’s vulgar accusations before eventually choosing to defend her husband, Dad (Michael Rogers), by retaliating and telling Dawta that she brought this upon herself. She even goes so far as telling Dawta that she was “born bad,” and that is the reason she was sexually abused — in essence, she asked for it. However, Mum is in for a rude awakening when she learns the abuse did not stop with Dawta.
When Dawta confronts the other characters, Sister #1 (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), Sister #2 (Crystal A. Dickinson) and Brother (Leroy James McClain), they each offer different perspectives on what happened. Throughout the play, Dad, the accused, sits like a king, observing without taking any accountability as the rest of his family tries to figure out this insidious saga.
green’s grueling unveiling of this family is relentless. The intermingling of Jamaican patois, Black American street lingo and standard English reflects the diverse cultural assimilation of this immigrant Caribbean-American family. green’s dialogue is rich and verbose, dutty and gritty, poetic, sweet and very real. Her characters are memorable. They are people who get up every day and keep it moving, despite the darkness of their souls.
green’s “Born Bad” is the long-awaited, fresh play that is sure to generate a renewed discourse as well as theater attendance by the Caribbean-American community who are dying to see themselves reflected on stage–even with such a disturbing theme as that of “Born Bad.”
And with the close of the curtain, Casting Pearls presents the Casting Pearls Awards (CPA) to the entire cast of “Born Bad.”
Graham, a Casting Pearls fave, is a stalwart of the stage and screen. She offers a moving, passionate depiction of the suffering of women who have been abused throughout the ages. Graham owns any role she tackles, and she certainly honors this character with tact and shrewdness, all the while wearing a face of bravado. Amongst her stage credits are “Across the Universe” and “Playboy of the West Indies.” Her TV credits include “Law & Order” and a 3-and-a-half-year engagement on “Another World.” I was honored to cast Graham in the role as Pras’ mom in the film, “Ghetto Superstar.” Bravo!
Rogers is another Casting Pearls fave who switches effortlessly between the rhythms of America and the Caribbean. Although this role called for very little dialogue, Rogers nailed his character. His actions conveyed the deep, dark torment of his soul, which he sums up so poignantly in a few words at the end of “Born Bad.” Rogers’ credits include “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” and “Breakfast with Mugabe” Bravo!
Simms is another Casting Pearls fave who also switches effortlessly between the cadences of the Americas. As Dawta she is a phenomenal, flawless, fearless panther searching for the truth, some of which over the years has been distorted. At the same time she is an innocent, curious young woman searching for love and acceptance. Amongst Simms’ credits are “Gem of the Ocean,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Bravo!
McClain powers the role of Brother, the sensitive, damaged son who detests human contact. His depiction of sadness is vividly authentic and serves to tell the story of the sole male defiled by his father’s demons. Brilliant work! Amongst his credits are “Cymbeline” and “The History Boys.” Bravo!
Bernstine lightens the heaviness of “Born Bad” in her role as the amiable, somewhat daffy Sister #1, and she is simply mesmeric. She effortlessly pulls the audience into her own special world where she just can’t recall anything that is too painful to remember. Bernstein is an Obie Award-winner for her role in “Ruined.” Other credits include “In the Next Room” and “The Misanthrope.” Bravo!
Dickinson is riveting as the no-nonsense, up-in-your-face Sister #2 who can’t stand Dawta and adores her father, who she feels can do no wrong, except not notice her. Dickinson, who was brilliant in “Broke-ology,” was also seen off-Broadway in “Bottom of the World.” Bravo!
CPAs are also presented to the playwright. Thank you for this brilliant timely, long-awaited Caribbean-American work. Bravo! To the director, whose memorable six chairs speak volumes–bravo! And another CPA to Soho Rep for producing “Born Bad,” of which Sarah Benson, the company’s artistic director, passionately said, “I am thrilled to be able to share Debbie Tucker Green’s extraordinary, urgent work with New York audiences.” Thank you, Soho Rep and Bravo! It’s time, New York! Seen. Scene.