'DA KINK IN MY HAIR
nytheatre.com review by Gregg Bellon
August 15, 2002
In the words of playwright Trey Anthony, who also stars as Novellette,
the “hair-reading” proprietor of a beauty parlor somewhere in Canada,
'da kink in my hair: voices of black womyn is “a play that would
focus on the lives of black womyn and authentically reflect the joy,
hardship, and struggles of black womyn’s lives.” Its strength lies
mostly in the performances of the five-woman chorus, each of whom
wonderfully executes a monologue depicting issues in the lives of
Caribbean transplants—incest, homophobia, police brutality, etc. Of
particular note are Debbie Young as the 12-year-old Stacey Anne, whose
thick, raw, and purely authentic Jamaican accent endears you to her as
much as her spot-on, emotionally-wrenching portrayal of a female’s
sacrifice even at that early age; and Ordena Stephens as the ultra pious
Patsy, for her honest and completely believable portrayal of a much
older mother dealing with the loss of one son and the hope for a new
one. Ngozi Paul, Rachael-Lea Rickards, and Miranda Edwards do more than
merely round out the chorus and each have moments of pure organic magic,
even as they struggled, at the performance reviewed, with some
unsympathetic audience members. Experiencing their determined focus and
commitment through the heckling gave me great hope and satisfaction as a
theater artist. Thank you, ladies.We learn quickly that most, if not all, of the characters that we will see are first- or second-generation Caribbean immigrants. But how their immigrant experience—particularly their colonial Caribbean history within Canada, the beacon of multiculturalism and tolerance—plays into their perspective on these issues is only briefly touched upon by Anthony through the too-young Stacey Anne. Other issues, like the pressures felt by an up-and-coming businesswoman (played by Edwards) or the intolerance encountered by a lesbian (portrayed by Rickards), strike less as issues specific to black women and more as territory already covered. Even Stephens’ Patsy, who touches us deeply with her story of a son shot and left to bleed to death by white police, fails to impress a theater audience in the city of Louima, Diallo, Dorismond, Louis Gene, etc., while still very affecting and tragic. Loss, love, rejection, betrayal, abuse affect us all, and we each have our story to tell about it. So, while extremely engaging, entertaining, and emotionally charged, 'da kink in my hair needs to teach us more about why these women and their struggles are unique and distinct.
