Atlantic Theater Company Presents DOUBLE BILL Review

Speaking to an offscreen alien, T raises her eyes to the ceiling and recounts playing a schoolyard game during preschool. Her painfilled memories smack us with full force as T describes how, even in preschool, her skin color had been a marker of difference and rejection. Each word is slow and ponderous but natural as if T were truly talking to an alien. T’s anger shines in her eyes and bursts through the camera. She hits us in the chest with her words as she describes the prejudice and discrimination experienced as a Black woman. This conversation is familiar to us, even when between a human and an alien.

In two separate short plays, Double Bill brings to mind the Black experience through music, poetry, and culture. In I Used To Love H.E.R., actor Jasmine Lee-Jones, takes us through the history of poetry and music in the Black community. To her, music and poetry are love languages, as her passionate speech shows. In Abduction, T faces questions from a relentless alien anxious to learn about the human race, especially how the difference of skin color plays a role. With carefully thought-out dialogue and heavy emotion in every word, both plays bring us closer to the actors, simply through the language alone.

Lee-Jones describes the advancements of poetry, as poetic dialogue spills out of her. Against a simple, white background, Lee-Jones brings the attention to her dialogue as her voice rises and falls with excitement. As she mentions the poetic work of musicians like Lauryn Hill and Kanye West, her pace quickens as she falls deeper into the poetry within the short play. There is a rhythm and a beat to her words, as if she is rapping. To Lee-Jones, music is poetry and poetry is a love language. Through her intensity and lyrical language, this play becomes poetry itself and becomes music to our ears.

This performance is perfect for those with great loves of flowing language and music as well as those interested in the application of these art forms to modern society. For those interested in more visual aspects, take a step back.

Atlantic Theater Company is now presenting African Caribbean MixFest, a series of free readings that runs virtually through Friday, January 29^th. Co-producer Guadalis Del Carmen says, “Producing MixFest this year brings me so much joy! I think of Aimee Cesar and Errol John and their efforts to shine a light on Caribbean stories, and I appreciate Atlantic Theater Company for carving out a space to continue that work. Although we’ve all had to adapt to life on Zoom as theater artists, these dynamic plays do not lose their shine. It’s also been important for us to curate a conversation around issues that directly affect the Caribbean, from sex tourism to environmental catastrophes. In a time of global reckoning around colonization, racism and anti-Blackness, I hope folks continue the conversations that these plays and panels will ultimately inspire.”

Atlantic Theater Company Presents DOUBLE BILL Review – Poetry and Perspective

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About the Author: Annabelle Harsch

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