For more information, read Physical Theater Festival Chicago 2019 – Preview
FREEMAN explodes on the bare black stage with a violent fight among the six performers. The atmosphere is electric, brutal.
The performers establish themselves as masters of fight chorography.
FREEMAN is about race—six true stories of black people driven to violence, murder, suicide by the unspoken link between systemic racism and mental health.
Physical Theater Festival Chicago Makes Us Hear the Stories
In one hour, Strictly Arts weaves through three centuries—19th, 20th, 21st—and three continents—Africa, Europe, North America. William Freeman, the son of one of the first free Africans in U.S., is jailed for a crime he did not commit and mercilessly beaten for five years. Out of jail in 1846, he takes blind revenge, murdering a white family of four with whom he had no connection. The white governor of New York enters a fruitless plea of insanity at Freeman’s trial. He dies in his cell of tuberculosis; his autopsy reveals advanced brain deterioration. The other stories are equally sad and maddening. In all, Blacks are not heard; they are assumed guilty.
The stories are threaded together and told through physical theater, spoken word, gospel singing, shadow puppetry and precise chorography. The message is that history is bound to repeat itself when the thumb is permanently bearing down on the loop button; nothing really changes.
FREEMAN, which was shortlisted for Amnesty International’s Freedom of Expression Award, is for adventurous theater goers looking for leading edge performance and strong message.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Note: This is now added to the Picture this Post round up of BEST PLAYS IN CHICAGO, where it will remain until the end of the run. Click here to read — Top Picks for Theater in Chicago NOW – Chicago Plays PICTURE THIS POST Loves.
Direction: Corey Campbell
Producer: Henry Bays
Assistant Producer: Jonathan Grant
Touring Stage Manager: Connor Dickens
Pip Barclay - Daniel M'naghten
Corey Campbell - William Freeman
Kimisha Lewis - Sandra Bland
Aimee Powell - Sarah Reed
Marcel White - David Oluwale
All play Michael Bailey and various other roles.
Where:
Thrust Theater
1225 W Belmont
Chicago, IL
When:
Friday, June 7th at 9pm
Saturday, June 8th at 9pm
60 minutes
Tickets:
$15+, including Festival Pass option
For tickets visit the Stage 773 website.
For more information, read Physical Theater Festival Chicago 2019 – Preview
Photos by Richard Kiely
Note: An excerpt of this play appears in Theatre in Chicago.
Reviewer Ann Boland is committed to Chicago theater. Involved in the audience since the early 80’s, she’s witnessed firsthand the rise of our theater scene, our exceptional local talent, and the vigor of each new generation. Ann handles public relations for authors and works on programs to help seniors with neurological movement disorders. Please visit her website for more information.
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