Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – EST’s well-judged production of BEHIND THE SHEET by Charly Evon Simpson examines the unexplored intersection of medicine, slavery, and gender

• By drediman
• January 22, 2019
• No Comments

Joel Ripka and Naomi Lorrain in Ensemble Studio Theatre’s production of “Behind the Sheet” by Charly Evon Simpson. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

This weekend, I was able to catch Charly Evon Simpson’s Behind the Sheet at Off-Broadway’s Ensemble Studio Theatre. Set in Alabama during the 1840s, Ms. Simpson’s new play tells the semi-fictitious story of how a southern doctor (“Dr. George”) discovers the cure for an unfortunate gynecological condition called fistulas – which occurs when a physically traumatic childbirth subsequently causes involuntary urinal leakage – by performing painful experimental surgeries on affected (and therefore unwanted) slaves.

I applaud Ms. Simpson for tackling a subject matter that hasn’t been explored very much – if at all – in theater; that is, the intersection of medical research, slavery, and gender. To her credit, she’s treated it with respect, skillfully and objectively laying out the facts and letting the prejudices of the times speak frankly for themselves with minimal didacticism. Although the play’s resolution seems a bit fudged, the playwright has managed to create compelling, three dimensional characterizations that mostly avoid caricature. Yes, our sympathies are drawn to the slave women used as experimental subjects, but not totally at the expense of the “villainous” white slave-owners.

The production has been expertly directed by Colette Robert in EST’s intimate, but sometimes awkwardly laid-out mainstage space. I was particularly impressed by the atmospheric and wonderfully-executed set design by Lawrence E. Moten III, one of the finest pieces of design I’ve seen at EST. As for the cast, they were very fine, led by well-judged performances by Joel Ripka (as Dr. George), Naomi Lorrain (as Philomena, Dr. George’s favorite servant/mistress turned experimental subject), and Megan Tusing (as Josephine, Dr. George’s suspecting wife).

RECOMMENDED

BEHIND THE SHEET
Off-Broadway, Play
Ensemble Studio Theatre
1 hour, 40 minutes (with no intermission)
Through February 3