Incendiary, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, DC

 

Breon Arzell as Markus, Nehassaiu deGannes as Tanya, and Brandon J. Pierce as Marcus in Incendiary by Dave Harris at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Photo by Teresa Castracane.

Incendiary is the first production I have seen at Washington’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. It is aptly titled, as fire and fire power play major roles in this world premiere by Dave Harris, directed by Monty Cole.

When we first meet Tanya, she is firing a revolver for the first time. The program tells us that she “is a Black mother determined to break her son, Eric, out of death row – or die trying.” She has an uncanny aim, especially since she shoots with her eyes averted from the target. She tells her brother (a gun dealer) that she needs lots of guns, rifles, automatic, grenades, and, oh, yeah, a flamethrower, too. When asked why she needs all this hardware, she explains that it will soon be her son’s 33^rd birthday and she is going to free him from jail. We later learn that he is scheduled to be put to death on the same date.

It's all so outrageous and elicits so much laughter that we don’t begin to anticipate the twists and turns the story will take as we follow Tanya on her quest. She is nothing without her step-by-step plan. First things first: before she can take on the prison system, she has three major tasks: she must have a will in place (which leads to a very funny scene with lawyers), she must get in shape (working with a physical trainer), and she must get her hair done (of course!). She’s also preparing a strawberry shortcake to take to Eric for his birthday, just as she has prepared for her mission. It’s his favorite. Once these tasks have been accomplished, she will be ready to break her son out of prison.

I hesitate to go further into the plot as the shock value of the play’s final 10-15 minutes is a major factor in achieving what I believe is the playwright’s aim.

In an interview with the playwright featured in the program, Harris writes, “I think a lot about generational violence, generational trauma, and how many things in my family cyclically repeated without ever having the ability to describe where they came from.” That’s heady stuff, and while I understand what he says, I can’t completely buy into his viewpoint since it minimizes a certain level of free will.

The play argues that we are products of the violence of our upbringing and we propagate that violence in our relationships with our children in an inescapable spiral. Just how far will we go in order to “save” someone and what cruelty are we capable of in order to reach those ends? Is cruelty necessary and inevitable? And what if there is actual enjoyment of being cruel? Is revenge really sweet? 

Nehassaiu deGannes is indefatigable as the determined Tanya. She negotiates each step of her journey with purpose. She gives a very physical and comically deft performance, maintaining her likability even as her actions become more offensive. Part of this, I think, is in the writing, but much of it is good will toward the character engendered by deGannes herself. Early on, Tanya’s daughter Jasmine is a comic foil to her mother, returning over and over again to “My psychiatrist says….” But there is more to Jasmine as her first scene suggests. As Jasmine, Shannon Dorsey demonstrates fully the character’s evolution into a much more complex character as the play unfolds.

Shannon Dorsey as Jasmine and Nehassaiu deGannes as Tanya in Incendiary. Photo by Teresa Castracane. 

Because he is talked about so often, especially by his mother, we build up certain expectations about Tanya’s son Eric, but there are surprises in store. As Eric, Terrance Fleming manages the balance between what we know and what we learn in a fiery performance. Breon Arzell and Brandon J. Pierce round out the cast, each playing more than one role. Each is successful in creating vivid characters and filling them with expression and energy. The scene in which they (as lawyers Markus and Marcus) advise Tanya about her will is easily one of the most inventively staged and hilarious performances I have seen.

The set design by Andrew Boyce is deceptively simple at first glance, but the transformations of the stage space into several different locations are cleverly done, with lighting designer Mextly Couzin contributing to evoking space and place. The costumes, designed by Samantha Jones, are serviceable and appropriate.

Director Monty Cole keeps the action moving and steers all of the play confidently through unexpected waters and subsequent changes in tone. I am impressed with playwright Dave Harris’s originality in concocting this ride. An interview with the playwright featured in the program indicates that his writing is affected by anime and video games. I cannot attest to that (being familiar with neither), but he clearly understands plot development, mostly logical if also outlandish, creating a world in which such bizarre plot developments are possible, as well as snappy dialogue and complex characterization.

Terrance Fleming as Eric in Incendiary. Photo by Teresa Castracane.

At a certain level, the play defies limitations of genre. In many respects, it is a satire that goes further than one would expect. Some might define it as a “black comedy,” a comedy that slips into darker places, requiring that we reassess some of the things we so eagerly laughed at earlier.

Since this was my first trip to Woolly Mammoth, I feel obligated to comment on the theatre company and the theatre space. The general “vibe” is contemporary and daring, challenging the audience to exit their safe places for the unexpected (and perhaps uncomfortable). Generally speaking, the audience appeared to be younger and more diverse than many of the other theatres in DC. The lobby area is well-appointed, welcoming, and comfortable, and the theatre space itself is warm, with excellent acoustics and sight lines, and enough room between rows (at least where I was sitting) so that you don’t have to stand up for someone to get past you.

Incendiary continues at Woolly Mammoth until June 25. In a nutshell, it is a ride with more twists than a roller coaster. It is daring, audacious, challenging, thought-provoking, and very funny. I will be interested to see what happens next for this play and this playwright. And I look forward to future Woolly Mammoth productions.