With “Get Out,” Academy Award winning filmmaker Jordan Peele added the African-American narrative as a new dimension within the fold of the mainstream American horror genre.
Peele works in components of the traditional elements (particularly by way of a diabolical mastermind). But the “sunken place” of confinement in a white people-generated perception of a diluted sense of humanity as a prison for black people is scarier than anybody’s bogeyman.
Playwright Kirsten Greenridge’s “Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale” was tackling racially motivated horror nearly 20 years before “Get Out” existed outside of Peele’s head. Though the play was originally written in 1999, the Rep’s production marks the first time the play has ever been staged.
Opening the Steve Woolf Studio Series with the world premiere of the play was a bold move for Hana S. Sharif, a black woman, in her first season succeeding Woolf as the Augustin Family Artistic Director of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
The play is a piercing, graphic and haunting illustration of one couple’s attempt to assimilate and achieve their idea of the American dream at all costs – and by any means necessary. They compromise their safety, their marriage and emotional well being in the quest to be labeled the “right kind of black people” as they acclimate themselves to their new home.
The Rep announced that the production’s run has been extended for an additional week (it’s now running through November 24), so the gamble paid off.
There wasn’t a seat to be had on a Tuesday night as guests were given advanced notice of a “truly immersive experience” through signage leading into the studio space. The scenic design of Lawrence E. Moten III began as soon as guests landed at the bottom of the stairs that lead to a hallway ahead of the studio space. Wallpaper and antiquated sconces given extra effect by Jason Lynch’s lighting set the tone – as did David Kelepha Samba’s subtle ambient sounds that became a full roar during the scary scenes.
Upon entry, patrons will see that they are invading the personal space of the production as a couple goes through the stresses of making a fixer-upper their dream home without making waves in an all-white suburb of Boston.
They sacrifice the natural danger instinct that black people often boast of and hold as a treasured element of their genetic makeup and other context clues that maybe the house was a bit more than they bargained for. They willfully ignored danger signs in their quest to be the perfect neighbors.
The choices come at the heaviest of prices as they are confronted with racial aggressions and biases that come as a direct result of the couple – led by wife June – dismissing the obvious and risking their safety for the sake of not rocking the boat.
A strange teenage girl named Beatrice arrives at their home, apparently from a different, far less progressive era. With her observations, ones that she sees as innocuous and even complementary, the couple are confronted with the complicated social history of America and how anything other than authentic contributions do nothing but compound America’s issues with race.
“Feeding Beatrice” is extremely difficult to watch. It’s difficult if you are a black person witnessing a couple put their safety and well being on the line for the sake of respectability politics. It’s difficult if you are a white person exposed to the secret essence of racism and bigotry that doesn’t leave the confines of one’s household or personal circle.
Director Daniel Bryant is effective in getting actors Nathan James and Lorene Chesley to play Lurie and June as a couple with natural chemistry – including the all-too-real frustrations and setbacks that come with home rehabilitation.
Ronald Emile’s Leroy Walker, brother of Lurie, is the voice of reason as he chimes in with his suspicions regarding their motives to move so far out and to ignore the signs that they are not a welcomed in their new community.
Allison Winn rounds out the strong cast in the title role. She comes into the play several scenes in and compels her co-stars to reach to their depths as she carries them to hell and back because of their stronghold on the idea that the home is their key to happily ever after.
“Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale” continues through November 24 at the Loretto-Hilton’s Emerson Studio Theatre, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves. For full schedule and additional information, visit www.repstl.org or call (314) 968-4925.
