Re-Memori by Nambi E. Kelley
a critique by Korinn Annette Jefferies korinnannette.com
a couple weeks ago I flew to Minnesota (for the first time!) to see Nambi E. Kelley’s Re-Memori at Penumbra Center for Racial Healing. the play was directed by Chris Berry, and I have lots of thoughts.
I want to preface this critique by saying my thoughts are less about the play and more about the conversations, themes, and stories centered in Black theatre as a whole.
but it’s a critique, so we’ll still talk about the play a bit too.
when I think about Minnesota, I don’t think about George Floyd. I think about the state fair. I think about my college roommate sophomore year. I think about pop.
George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by the Minneapolis Police Department, 16 minutes from Saint Paul where Penumbra is located.
again Penumbra, formerly Penumbra Theatre, is a center for racial healing. there are Racial Healing Workshops, wellness is prioritized, and Black playwrights are given the opportunity to showcase new works with dynamic support financially and spiritually.
Kelley’s play, Re-Memori, highlights how racial trauma affects the body. in the play, Memori Brooks’ (Shá Cage) ancestral, familial, and personal racial traumas cause her hair to fall out. and this aspect of the play alone highlights how aligned this work is with Penumbra’s mission.
the play was rooted in the character Memori, but Cage took form as three other characters all of whom were connected by a document that expounded upon the history of enslavement in their family.
it’s no secret that I am not a fan of one person shows. but this one was different.
and perhaps it was my distance from the stage (on the back row). maybe it was because I knew the director (it’s okay to admit bias). it could’ve been because I watched the piece surrounded by theatre people (if you know, you know).
truthfully, all of those things played a part.
one person shows often enlist the audience as a scene partner. I hate that. I love immersive theatre but I do not like being singled out as an audience member. I want to be embraced into the world of the play, but I don’t want a speaking part/I don’t want to be on stage. though Re-Memori has moments where Cage is speaking directly to the audience, it did not feel like anyone was being singled out. and when the focus did shift to specific people in the audience, it was fleeting.
and the play didn’t drag on and on and on.
it was succinct and relevant. I enjoyed the play.
I am always, as a writer and a critic, trying to balance my feelings regarding racially charged works. on one hand, I’m exhausted. everyone’s sad and every Black play that is lauded or produced seems to focus on race/racial trauma/discrimination/pain/SUFFERING as opposed to seeing Blackness or racial injustice as the context for a story.
but it’s cyclical. it’s unending. it is the context of Black life in America.
at the Black Theatre Network Conference this past summer I sat in on a panel called ‘Say Gay: A Discussion of Black LGBT+ Experiences in Theatre’ with Greg Williams (Hoodoo House), Shawntai Brown (Black LGBT+ Plays), Alesyn McCall (Black LGBT+ Plays), and Billicia Hines (Wayne State University). the panelists spoke about how LGBT+ plays often center coming out, the suppression of gender expression, hate crimes, and trauma. the characters in these works do not get to exist as their full selves— they’re gay or trans and that’s them and that’s the play. we don’t get to hear about other aspects of their lives.
I think this is a common occurrence for minority groups. when our experiences are broadcast, the focus seems to be on whatever attribute makes us a minority and how hard it is to rise above. when we talk about funding, producing, popularity— when it comes to the Black community these are the stories we choose to share, we tend to center struggle.
and at times it feels like we have to. like we have to prove a point.
when I think about Penumbra,
a Black theatre
a center for racial healing
in St. Paul, Minnesota
not far from where George Floyd was killed by the police
I understand the urgency. I understand the decision to be dedicated to bringing works that center race. I understand the need for works that are didactic, that teach audiences.
however, still, and yet
Louisville, KY
Ferguson, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Washington, DC
Greensboro, NC
Minneapolis, MN
this is not a unique situation.
in 2019 I attended a play at Playmakers in Chapel Hill, NC as a KKK rally was being held in the same county.
so I wonder how many times I’ve been ‘not far.’ and I believe it’s more than I can count.
because it’s everywhere. and there are so many other things to talk about. I think the concern is that those other things may not be as impactful/that audiences need the clarity that comes with a work where race is the central focus. and then on the other hand, as an artist who has made a work about race (though it is not about race relations, per se) I understand the need to get it out. because it’s also a reality and even though it’s cyclical and happening all around you, sometimes you need to write about your experiences or highlight situations to which you’re being exposed.
I see both sides. the pain is hard to ignore.
but I’m also very tired.
and I think Black people should get to have plays that focus on other things too.
‘Re-Memori’ by Nambi E. Kelley
is running at Penumbra Center for Racial Healing until November 5, 2023
get tickets here.