It Begins in Darkness

Passage – Remy Bumppo

Like a tunnel or long hallway, Christopher Chen’s 2018 one-act drama is a walk down a dark “Passage.” It begins in darkness and ends in the light, but along the way the journey is filled with shadowy uncertainty, frightening twists and turns and unexpected surprises with shocking revelations. Without actually dramatizing the book, this is Chen’s homage to E.M. Forster’s novel about colonization, A Passage to India. The play borrows elements of Forster’s plot and character relationships, without being about the British takeover of India. True to Remy Bumppo’s credo, this play is truly “think theatre,” because it fiercely engages the audience and forces each member to examine, explore and ultimately evaluate the drama they’ve just experienced.

Chen achieves an anonymity in his work by using letters to denote characters and locales. He sets his play in a country called X. This nation has been colonized by their neighboring country, Y. The audience is free to provide names for these two countries, if they like, or simply allow them to be two imaginary, unnamed locations. Director Kaiser Ahmed has assembled a superb multicultural cast of actors in order to give his production greater diversity. At a time when Russia is trying to take over Ukraine, and practically every country in the world has enacted new laws about immigration, Chen’s play asks audiences to consider how we think about “Others.”

Two characters from country Y meet and become friends onboard a ship bound for country X. Leyla Beydoun plays Q, a young woman who’s excited to be traveling to X to join her fiancee, R (played with strength by Adam Poss). She finds a kinship with F, a gentle, educated, humanely accepting young man, who’s taken a position as a teacher in country X. He’s portrayed with intelligence, grace and sensitivity by Patrick Agada. At a social gathering, the hostess (played by Tiffany Renee Johnson) poses a question that begins to reveal the underlying antagonism between the native X citizens and their Y immigrants. She asks if its actually possible for people from X and Y to really become friends? All sides of the question are debated, but B, a highly respected doctor from X, who recently achieved modest fame in a published magazine portrait, resists being pulled into this discussion. She’s played brilliantly by company member, Charin Alvarez. G, the play’s affable narrator, is portrayed by genial and gifted Peter Sipla, who’s also a kind of holy man in country X. He wisely decides not to take sides in this argument and leaves the party.

As protests in X grow into violent demonstrations, conflicts begin to occur within the lives of these characters. Q believes she’s seeing disturbing changes in her fiancee. She also experiences prejudice by the X native citizens. Doctor B endures some very unfair and humiliating criticism from her superior (nicely played by Carolyn Hu Bradbury), a doctor originally from country Y. B chances to meet F and they become friends. She offers to lead both F and Q on a field trip to the famous caverns of her country, so they can see some of the natural beauty that makes X so remarkable. Once inside the cave, F feels ill and chooses to be alone for a bit to take in the atmosphere of the environment. B suggests to Q that, in order fully experience the meditative quality of the caverns she ought to go by herself into an adjoining chamber. But something violent and shocking takes place there that will ultimately lead to the destruction of their friendships.

After a kind of resolution, during which characters become even more divided, G returns to speak directly to the audience. He reminds us that each audience member is uniquely different and brings his own personal experiences to a play. Those experiences force us to see this story and these characters in many different ways. The mystical G gently asks with compassion if, because of our differences, we can truly understand what another person or character is going through? If not, he contends that in this disconnect the seeds of anger and violence will most likely be sewn and grow out of control.

Kaiser Ahmed has mastered a difficult challenge in bringing an order to this mixture of themes and messages, questions and answers. His cast is brilliant and quite exemplary in their many characterizations. Chen’s play isn’t easy and demands much, not only of its actors, but of its audience. Yeaji Kim has created a setting that looks rustic and serene, except for a large crack that extends from the ceiling to the main entrance. It’s an obvious blemish in what would otherwise be a perfect scenic design, and that crack becomes a metaphor of the break in our trust and relationships with others. Co-lighting Designers Liz Gomez and Mac Vaughey paint the setting with illumination and shadow, while Michael Huey’s original music and sound design subtly enhance the exotic visuals.

Matthew Chen’s drama is as timely as when it was written four years ago. Perhaps it’s even more au courant now, given everything that’s happening in the world today. There’s no denying that it’s a remarkably dense and demanding drama, filled with a myriad of cerebral choices and challenges. However, as Remy Bumppo seeks to enrich our view of the world, and make us “think theatre,” the dedicated playgoer will find plenty of food for thought during the 90 minute production, and will leave the theatre feeling extremely full. The journey through this dark passage will finally bring us into the light. 

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the Theater Wit box office, by calling 773-975-8150 or by going to www.RemyBumppo.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.