A SUBVERSIVE SKEWERING OF BLACK STEREOTYPES
Directors of ‘ modern minstrel show’ hope it brings new voice to theatre
Any play that bills itself as “a subversive modern minstrel show about black identity” is clearly looking to push buttons. The Shipment, by Korean- American playwright Young Jean Lee, is a work that blasts through multiple levels of racial bias in an attempt to draw attention to just how much racism is part of everyone’s makeup. It pulls no punches doing so.
SpeakEasy Theatre presents the West Coast Canadian premiere of the piece, which takes an all- black cast through a list of characters that include Crackhead John, Drug Dealer Mama and Video Ho, to name a few.
“The Shipment is not your usual comedy, that’s for certain,” said SpeakEasy’s Kayvon Khoshkam. “It’s really raw, really in your face and it’s really, really funny. There are so many aspects of Young Jean Lee’s writing that surprised me and will be certain to do the same with the audience too.”
For almost a century, minstrelsy was an enormously popular theatrical form where white artists, often in black face makeup, mocked African- Americans through skits, songs and monologues mired in racist stereotypes. The title of the play is influenced by a rap song about a shipment of drugs that Ms. Lee found also evoked the African slave trade. Patrick Healy writing in the New York Times in 2009 headlined his review of The Shipment as “An Evening in Black and White From A Playwright Who Is Neither,” noting how the elements of minstrel show structure in the work at times go as deep as presenting stereotypes over fleshand- blood characters for greater impact.
Co- director Omari Newton is really excited about mounting the show, which he feels really moves beyond the “Race 101 entry level phase” that so much theatre has been operating in.
“An Asian woman writing a play about, predominantly, black male identity after heavily consulting with her mostly black male cast is something that presents a complexity that is much more than ‘ racism bad, don’t be racist,’” said Newton. “Not that many plays are willing to be courageous enough to tackle this kind of subject matter in a way that may very well upset and disrupt audiences. I really love a lot of the playwrights from the African- American canon, many of which are really brilliant, but they just keep being remounted and it puts the whole issue of race in the context that it is something in the past.”
One need only turn on the nightly news to know that nothing could be further from the truth. White supremacists are marching all across North America and racial tensions are at an all- time high. Playwright Lee is quoted saying that one of the things she considered when putting together The Shipment was the notion being bandied about in media and by former president Obama that America had entered into a post- racial era.
Jump ahead only a few years and it’s pretty clear that idea was utopian at best, deluded at its worst.
“There are just so many levels of The Shipment which challenge the perceptions being reinforced in the dominant society narrative around black identity,” said Khoshkam. “But I really want to stress that it isn’t ever preachy and it doesn’t point fingers as you might expect. When we all discussed do-
ing the piece, the feeling was pretty universal that it had to happen and it was important in terms of the whole discussion around representation and diversity taking place at this very critical time in history.”
Khoshkam originally brought in Newton as one of the cast for the show and the actor was immediately drawn to the work. As someone who loves the stage, it has often been a difficult road trying to get work, as casting actors of colour wasn’t happening. Newton is pleased to see that there has been a conscious effort made to right this situation and have Vancouver theatre casts better reflect the makeup of the population. Plays such as The Shipment can play a part in furthering this change by introducing new, current voices to the scene.
“A play like this will force people to confront not only the overt manifestations of this problem, but also the far more covert ways that black people are perceived and presented,” he said. “You have to evolve and build from the foundations and make sure that theatre isn’t this museum piece, but is actively putting new voices on stage.”
Both directors point out that they have nothing against the past and the work that has been done to build vibrant Canadian theatre. They just feel strongly that for the continued success of the form moving forward, it needs to strive to be more reflective of changing demographics and narratives. The Shipment is the kind of play that they — and a host of theatre reviewers across Europe and North America — feel is bringing a new voice.