Review: SLAVE PLAY at Short North Stage

In the first act of SLAVE PLAY, therapist Tea (played by the always entertaining Lisa Glover) tells the three couples participating in the Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy, "This is going to require you to step outside your comfort zone." The same warning label should be posted on the Short North Stage's marquee and ticket stubs for this three-act, 90-minute play.

SLAVE PLAY, which was nominated for 12 Tony Awards (a record for a non-musical play) in 2020, seems to be designed by author Jeremy O. Harris for the purpose of making theatergoers uncomfortable. The play is making its Columbus debut Jan. 26-Feb. 19 at the Garden Theatre (1187 North High Street in downtown Columbus).

Tea and her partner Patricia (Gabriela Gomez), an interracial gay couple, hope to snap three mixed race couples out of their anhedonia (loss of interest/motivation) caused by what they term as R.I.D. (Racialized Inhibiting Disorder). The two theorize the roots of R.I.D., which inhibits blacks from enjoying sexual relations with their Caucasian partners, stems from the trauma white slave owners inflicted on their imprisoned workers. The three couples are asked to act out master-slave relationships to see how history affects their identities and sexual relationships.

Director Nakeisha Daniel develops nuanced performances of each of the couples: Jim (Samuel Patridge) and Kaniesha (Candyce Adkins); Gary (R. Jahan) and Dustin (Matthew Sierra); and Alana (Kayla Ryan Walsh) and Phillip (Taylor Moss).

Glover and Gomez spout off psychological theory and anachronisms as if they are spitting up the self-help book section of a Barnes & Noble. Glover, a SNS veteran who is known for her physical comedic roles like TOXIC AVENGER, and NOISES OFF, plays off Gomez as a couple who is starting to show the strain of working together. With an eye roll here and an interruption there, the two are often the comic relief in a very intense drama.

Adkins and Partridge are the first and last couple on the stage and their volatile relationship seems to be the centerpiece of the show. Partridge navigates Jim's strained English politeness that is paired against Adkins' tempestuous Kaniesha

Everyone knows a couple like Moss' Alana and Walsh's Phillip. Alana is an over-the-top, expressive, and note-taking matriarch whereas Phillip's quiet masks a rage that burns underneath until it boils over. One of the show's best comedic bits was when the two therapists interpret what Alana and Phillip were saying to each other. After Glover went through a laundry list of Alana's expressed emotions, fears, desires, questions, and feelings, Gomez drolly deadpans, "What I hear you saying Phillip, is ... 'it was okay.'"

Finally, there's Gary and Dustin, the only couple who at first seem to make a leap forward at the therapy session, only to have that breakthrough end in a breakup. While their role-playing experience is the hardest to relate to, the anger and pent-up hostility provides one of the emotional arcs of the show.

What the eight-person cast accomplishes in 90 minutes is it takes two of the most difficult topics to discuss - sex and race - and brings them to the forefront where they are unavoidable. The role playing and some of the dialogue is hard to see and even harder to get out of your mind. Reactions to the play have been so intense that SNS has mental health officials in the lobby to help some of the audience members process what they are seeing.

People always ask critics two questions: "did you like it?" and "is it worth seeing?" When it comes time to discuss SLAVE PLAY, these two questions are going to be tough to answer. Did I like it? From a theatrical rubric, it checks off the boxes of fantastic acting and wonderful direction, and powerful message. However, is it enjoyable? At times yes ... and sometimes it felt like a punch to the stomach.

However, the second question -- is it worth going to? - the answer is unequivocally YES. Consider this: Was SCHINDLER'S LIST enjoyable? Not necessarily ... but it is important to see. Perhaps SLAVE PLAY falls into that same vein.