“Redeemed,” recently staged at 59E59 Theaters, was a play that called out white privilege in this country. In 90 minutes of intense dialogue, gestures, and body language, “Redeemed” introduced its audience to the characters of Trevor Barlow and Claire Yiang. Trevor, a white convict who murdered Claire’s brother in a horrific hate crime, has served nine years in prison and is about to go up before the parole board. Trevor hopes that Claire will visit him and help him convince the board he should be paroled.
Playwright Chisa Hutchinson cleverly and stunningly dissects the topic of white privilege and entitlement, and how white men feel that they have a right to be forgiven for whatever they have done. In this case, Trevor comes to Claire with a disturbing story: He tells her that the ghost of her brother is haunting him and the ghost wants her to forgive him and see that he is a redeemed man. He relentlessly tries to convince her to not only help him get paroled, but help him to publish a book about his life so he can profit from what he has done.
Sounds like a lot of nerve, right? You kill her brother and then ask for her help!
Trevor thinks he has Claire convinced and fooled, but Claire is no one’s fool. She meticulously examines all the information he has provided and realizes what the truth really is.
These two incredible actors — Elizabeth Sun as Claire and Doug Harris as Trevor — and this brilliant, poignant work had me mesmerized for 90 uninterrupted minutes. Hutchinson’s “Redeemed” was part of 59E59 Theaters AMPLIFY Festival and is one of three of her works they will present.
Sun embodied the anger, intelligence, and outrage of that character in such a transformative way. She was gripping as Claire. Harris gave an equally driven performance as Trevor. The tension between the two at times was so thick that you could have cut it with a knife. This tremendous play was directed by Marcus D. Harvey.
For more information about upcoming shows at 59E59 Theaters, visit www.59e59.org.