Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Flea’s revival of Thomas Bradshaw’s SOUTHERN PROMISES observes the Antebellum with deadpan gaze

• By drediman
• April 10, 2019
• No Comments

Jahsiah Rivera and Shakur Tolliver in Thomas Bradshaw’s “Southern Promises” at The Flea Theater.
Photo by Joan Marcus.

I recently had a chance to catch the Off-Broadway revival of Thomas Bradshaw’s 2008 play Southern Promises at The Flea Theater. The Flea has long been a supporter and nurturer of Mr. Bradshaw’s craft, having previously staged several of his provocative plays, including JOB, Fulfillment, and Dawn. Set in the South (pre-emancipation), Southern Promises tells the tale of a slave and his wife who, after having been promised freedom by their ailing master, are denied their liberation and furthermore suffer innumerable indignities at the hands of the widowed lady of the plantation and her new husband (her brother-in-law, in fact).

Mr. Bradshaw has the unique ability to observe his characters and their various predicaments with a deadpan gaze that’s unnerving. Many times, he seems to be testing the audience’s moral compass by writing blunt plays that refuse to opine on the happenings in his works. Such an approach often plainly expose hypocrisy and raw brutality, mercilessly resulting in plays that are at once unexpected, befuddling, and unsettling. The inherent melodrama of Southern Promises tests the playwright’s ambivalence, happily to limited success. It’s refreshing to be able to examine the past through such an objective lens.

Although the revival — slightly revised from its original incarnation (e.g., a new ending has been put in place) — has been clearly mounted on a budget by Flea artistic director Nigel Smith, the production is nonetheless admirably sharp and stylish. The performances by The Bats, The Flea’s youthful volunteer resident acting company, are exceptionally convincing, especially given many of the actors’ limited experience and the production’s insistence on color-blind – or more like color-only – casting to recreate the Antebellum South.

RECOMMENDED

SOUTHERN PROMISES
Off-Broadway, Play
The Flea Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through April 18