Review: A Time of Fire at Black Rep

The existence of Black Rep's theater program can no longer be taken for granted. The economic crisis nearly claimed the balance of the 2008-2009 season. Enormous personal sacrifices had to be made. New, deeper, collaborations need to be nurtured. Fortunately, for the moment, Black Rep's theater program can continue presenting art in the cultural traditions of the African Diaspora.

This mission allows the program to present works like the U.S. premiere of Charles Mulewka's A Time of Fire. The piece does not fit nicely into a traditional American-style of theater. This is, e xactly, the point.

Written in 1999, A Time of Fire takes place in a cave on the edge of a village in an unnamed African country, somewhere in the Great Lakes Region.

Three strangers have each come to the cave to temporarily escape the fighting in the village below. There is a soldier, Kadogo (Cedric Lilly), a student, Omo (Jonathan Dent) and a thief, Ssasi (Raidge).

These pat descriptions only begin to address how people see themselves. A soldier can also be an orphan, a thief can also be a brother, and a student can also be a lover. Ad infinitum.

The balance of power between the three men is quickly established, as only the soldier is armed. The only connection the men have to the outside world is a radio. Suspicion, which in time of war keeps people alive, is contagious.

Act One is meant to be frustrating and circular and it is. The following verbal volley takes about 25 seconds to complete and gives a feel for how tense and claustrophobic conditions in the cave are:

KADOGO (The Soldier): You are together the two of you?

OMO (The Student): No, never.

SSAASI (The Thief): Me I move alone.

OMO: Don't know that man from Adam.

KADOGO: Aha! Thank you for telling me. Who-is-Adam?

OMO: Adam? Adam is - Adam is -

KADOGO: Whoever he is, wherever he is, he had better show himself...Now!

With hands up. Or I fire. Tell him to come out and save his friends!

SSAASI: Guy, tell your Adam to come out before we are shot for nothing.

OMO: Which Adam you also!

KADOGO: You said Adam. You.

SSAASI: Even these ears of mine heard.

OMO: And you think those are ears!

SSAASI: When it is my end you open your teeth! We all heard Adam.

OMO: Yes, but - yes, actually what I said is: I don't-know-the man-from-Adam.

KADOGO: Don't play, you boy, don't play.

OMO: Meaning I have never seen this man before!

SSAASI: And me also. Never seen that one.

KADOGO: You lie, you die.

In Act Two, the men learn that there is some shared history. As the dynamic of the war changes, the interpersonal dynamic changes as well. What begins, as "each man for himself" in the cave becomes "the cave versus the outside world".

The narrative opens up, becomes more accessible and as the audience begins to learn more about the men (as they learn about each other), we begin to identify with the characters and eventually care about them (as they begin to care about each other). The story of A Time of Fire is a small as it is universal.

Cedric Lilly, Jonathan Dent and Raidge each give tremendous, dialogue and dialect-heavy performances. Only Raidge gets time off-stage during the two-hour production. The focus that is required is daunting.

The set, by Michael McGarty, reflects the new economic reality faced by Black Rep. Chicken wire is bent to fashion a cave. There is a bench. A ladder represents a ledge. It is not quite black box.... but the audience needs to use its collective imagination to take the journey.

I am not sure that A Time of Fire will be "enjoyed" in the traditional American sense of enjoyment. I think it is more likely to be "appreciated" by an audience. It is, however, exactly the type of risk-taking production that audiences can and should expect from Black Rep.

Directed by Donald King, A Time of Fire will run throughout the month of February in celebration of Black History Month. Scheduled performance dates are February 7th - March 8th.

Showtime is at 7:00 p.m. Thursday - Saturday and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.

General Admission is $20 with $10 tickets available for students and seniors.

Every Sunday is "The People's Matinee" admission is pay-what-you-can.

Tickets for individual performances may be purchase by phone at (401) 621-6123, at the ArtTix box office at 10 Dorrance Street (12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday), or online at www.ArtTixRI.com.

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