In ‘Othello,’ imagine a world transformed
Debra Ann Byrd has a story to tell, and it’s unmistakably and compellingly hers. But as in the best storytelling theater, there is plenty to take away for anyone watching her navigate the ups and downs — particularly the shattering downs — of life.
The founding artistic director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival, actor-playwright-producer Byrd has brought her autobiographical play, “Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey,” to Central Florida as the latest offering in Orlando Shakes‘ season. It’s a tale of success against the odds as Byrd endures one traumatizing obstacle after another.
But “Becoming Othello,” with original direction by Tina Packer, is no self-pity party. Byrd has a way with dramatic revelations — it is a show, after all — but how she copes with each traumatic experience becomes more important than the experiences themselves.
And Byrd has lived through a lot. “Becoming Othello” touches on rape, depression, poverty, violence and more. Yet because Byrd is here telling her story, it’s clear she persevered. That gives her audience the freedom to relax and focus on her underlying themes — of having faith but also believing in oneself, of taking matters into your own hands when necessary, of the importance of being the change in the world you want to see.
These ideas, of course, can apply to anyone, which aids in making her show of interest to a wide audience. But Byrd’s performance in and of itself is enough reason to watch.
Technically speaking, she displays a marvelous proficiency with dialects. But it’s the whole rhythm of the show that produces its appealing energy. Recorded music adds to that effect; the sound design is by David D. Wright. And Delonte Smith’s lighting design helps the action maintain momentum.
It’s the cadence of her words in Byrd’s focused delivery, the punctuated consonants, the swelling phrases that call to mind, well, Shakespeare.
Byrd mixes in the heady words of Shakespeare among her own, to strong effect; she makes you hear the English writer’s familiar words anew. She’s equally adept at using simplicity to strike a piercing emotional blow. Describing her shabby living situation, she hits the heart by simply saying: “The room is sad, and so am I.”
The scene is set brilliantly with an opening history lesson to the sound of drums and Byrd’s stirring musical cry of “I can hear my ancestors calling.” That history is part of Byrd discovering who she is — a mix of everything from German to Spanish, English to African. As she makes clear, the truth of the past must be addressed to move forward.
Ultimately, her story is a battle between pain and power, which may be why the downs of her life get more attention here than the ups (I wanted to hear more about some of her successes). While Shakespeare is the order of the day, Byrd’s achievements left me thinking of another famous speechifier, Winston Churchill, who famously said that when racking up successes and setbacks, “It is the courage to continue that counts.”
Byrd has that courage and then some.
By show’s end, Byrd casts herself alongside the world’s great orators in a plea for unity in facing global problems. It almost feels like a comedown from the intensely personal we’ve been experiencing. But the power of “Becoming Othello” is such that you’re on her side, not out of sympathy for what she’s endured but because you know she’s right.
‘BECOMING OTHELLO: A BLACK GIRL’S JOURNEY’
Length: 1:40, no intermission
Where: Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E. Rollins St. in Orlando
When: Through March 30 Cost: $27.56 and up
Info: orlandoshakes.org