BYHALIA, MISSISSIPPI by Evan Linder (Cue6). At the Storefront Theatre (955 Bloor West). Runs to January 22. $22-$35. cue6.ca/tickets. See Listing. Rating: NNN
Evan Linder‘s Byhalia, Mississippi is an unusual play, if only because seven North American cities are currently premiering the script in readings or full stagings.
There are other reasons to pay attention, though. Linder’s tale, with its themes of trust, forgiveness and racism, has power in Cue6‘s staging, the sole Canadian production.
Laurel (Claire Armstrong) and Jim (Joshua Browne), a young white couple in Mississippi, are soon to become parents. When the child is born, it’s black.
The rest of the play is spent sorting out their lives and that of the newborn, with the help (and sometimes hindrance) of Laurel’s religious mother, Celeste (Kyra Harper), Jim’s black friend Karl (Mazin Elsadig) and Ayesha (Virgilia Griffith), a black woman who’s known Laurel since childhood.
In director Jill Harper‘s staging, the writing’s strength is often in the two-person scenes, where the dialogue sounds right and the emotions are at a high pitch. The production starts off with one such dialogue, between Laurel and her mother, who are clearly often at odds. Armstrong and Harper know precisely how to play the comedy and tension between them.
Armstrong and Browne also play well together, first in a sensual, affectionate way and later when his anger and confusion charge their encounters, as in the explosive first-act ending.
The drama is also high at the start of the second act, when the controlling Ayesha, a quiet power in Byhalia, brings a condescending snarkiness to her meeting with Laurel.
Some other scenes are needlessly protracted, though, and Karl isn’t as fully fleshed out as he might be, though Elsadig does what he can with the role, especially when he reveals his hitherto unspoken rage.
