This Bitter Earth – Carpe Diem
There are events in our lives before and after which we mark the rest. We never know at the time. This Bitter Earth is bookended by such an event…A gay couple flirts playfully. “We had just left the bar,” Jesse tells us. “It was late. It was cold. We were drunk…”
2014 Neil (Tom Holcomb) is White; Jesse (Damian Thompson) Black. That opposites can attract is here exemplified by character, not color. Neil quit a financial job, turning away from the ethos of neckties. He’s become a full time political activist. Presumably raised middle class, Jesse is startled to learn long after they’ve become a couple, that his lover has an appreciable trust fund. Jesse is an aspiring playwright/ teacher. While he’s always preferred White men, he’s Neil’s first African American. Both are educated with liberal parents.
Tom Holcomb and Damian Thompson
In Ferguson, the next town over, an 18 year-old Black man is shot by a White police office who ostensibly thinks he’s a thief. Unarmed, the Black man struggles with the cop’s gun, runs, and is shot down. Racial profiling is embedded in the local force. National awareness is raised. There are protests and riots. Neil is committed to demonstrate. Jesse refuses to join him. We never understand why he’s so adamant about not getting involved.
The play morphs back and forth in time, employing vignettes (separated by sound and light) that show how the men came together, affection, sex, evolution, a breach and forgiveness. Though illuminating and well/realistically written, there are a few too many segments. Along the way, Neil’s active support of African American pushback reflects racial major incidents. It also shows something of how a non Black supporter copes with suspicion. “My privilege is inescapable no matter what I do,” he comments. Descriptions are evocative.
Playwright Harrison David Rivers deftly shows the progression of a relationship. Characters are multi-layered and credible as are doubts and belief systems especially indicative of the era in which they live. We feel with them both.
Tom Holcomb and Damian Thompson
Tom Holcomb and Damian Thompson are excellent and well matched. Chemistry and the generosity towards one another create solid collaborative performance. We observe thoughts being processed with speech following only when completed. Physicality (Rocio Mendez – intimacy and fight director) is completely natural. The actors manifest different “vibes.”
Director David Mendizábal has paced the piece masterfully, allowing just enough time, space, and variety to draw us in. Stage business seems organic.
Christina Watanable (lighting) and Frederick Kennedy (sound) symbiotically move us along with the protagonists.
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled (Hebrews 12:15)
Photos by Mike Marques
Opening: Damian Thompson (Jesse) and Tom Holcomb (Neil)
TheaterWorks Hartford can be counted on for superior production.
TheaterWorks Hartford presents
This Bitter Earth by Harrison David Rivers
Directed by David Mendizábal
Through March 20, 2022, at TheaterWorks Hartford’s beloved home, located at 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT.
OR the play can be streamed on-demand
All tickets can be purchased online at www.twhartford.org or by calling 860.527.7838.
