Where We Belong, Folger Theatre/Woolly Mammoth, Washington, DC

 

Madeline Sayet in Where We Belong at Folger Theatre. Photo Credit: Erika Nizborski Photography.

Where We Belong, the title of the current offering at the Folger Theatre presented in association with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, could easily have become a question: Where [do] we belong? Instead, the title is an assertion, a claim of dominion, a statement that where “we” belong is precisely where “we” are: in a Shakespearean theatre in the capital city of a nation that was built by the displacement and genocide of indigenous people and much of their culture, on land that was once the home of the Piscataway tribe, only a few blocks from Woolly Mammoth Theatre, which nurtured this play before it was originally performed digitally, at the height of the pandemic. After a tour with runs in places like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Seattle, “We” belong here, on the stage at Folger Theatre, because in figurative and literal ways, Washington is “home” for this and where it “belongs.”

How this all comes together is what ties us to the one-person play created, written, and given a virtuoso performance by Madeline Sayet. Sayet, the program tells us, is a “Mohegan theatre maker” originally from Connecticut. A reverence for her Mohegan heritage was instilled by her mother, who held a high position in her indigenous culture. But, growing up where she did, her native culture was marginalized. She sought (and found) her refuge in theatre, specifically Shakespeare. That those two disparate threads come together ultimately leads to the journey Sayet shares with us in this very personal 90-minute play.

In 2015, Sayet crosses the Atlantic to study for her Ph.D. in Shakespeare. Once in England, however, she finds herself very much alone, totally separated from her native culture. The only place she seems to find a kindred spirit is at the grave of a Mohegan forefather, Mahomet Weyonomon. He also made the trip from Connecticut to England, in 1736, to protest the treatment of the Mohegans by the English colonists. Meyonomon came down with smallpox and died, buried in a grave that remained unidentified for years.

Madeline Sayet in Where We Belong at Folger Theatre. Photo Credit: Erika Nizborski Photography.

Sayet receives something of the same treatment from her British professors and others with whom she interacts: she is ignored or belittled, certainly short of developing smallpox, but in the process finding that she begins to question her devotion to Shakespeare. She is in the United Kingdom as Brexit is anticipated; another instance of drawing arbitrary lines that separate people.

Paradoxically, she is drawn to the beauty in Shakespeare’s language, which causes her to resent (even further) that the Mohegans have largely lost theirs, still in existence in a written form after the death of the last surviving fluent speaker. Does the universal acceptance of Shakespeare’s language mean that his thoughts are superior to those that might evolve or have evolved in other languages, living or lost? And what of the stories that should have been (or continue to be) shared in order to further understand and appreciate cultures other than our own?

Sayet provides no easy answers. She leads us through a narrative in which we move back and forth in time, taking in a variety of locations, and including an interesting and varied cast of characters (including her mother, Swedish and British immigration officers, her professors, and a particularly demeaning official from the British Museum). Sayet moves effortlessly from one to another, mastering different accents and attitudes with a sometimes-wry humor, while never losing the earnestness of her own character as she continues to ask questions we must continue to ask.

Madeline Sayet in Where We Belong at Folger Theatre. Photo Credit: Erika Nizborski Photography.

The play is directed by Mei Ann Teo, who helps keep the through-line in sight, even as the play makes some twists and turns. Hao Bai has created an intriguing setting that appears rather simple at first, but takes on unexpected new visual perspectives through the use of lighting delivered from different sources and in different colors. Asa Benally designed Sayet’s simple but appropriate costume. Eric Schilke provides a musical score and sound design that support the narrative.

The Folger Shakespeare Library building has been undergoing renovations since 2020, with an expected completion date later this year. Although nothing obvious has been changed in the theatre itself, significant updates have been made in some of the public areas.

Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, the weekend before seeing Where We Belong, I watched the current film, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Taken together, these two experiences represent important, long-ignored perspectives regarding indigenous cultures and performed (at least in part) by indigenous artists. I hope this is a trend that will continue. You may see Where We Belong where it belongs at the Folger through March 10 as we eagerly anticipate the reopening of the renovated building.

 

Madeline Sayet in Where We Belong at Folger Theatre. Scenic, Lighting, and Props designed by Hao Bai. Photo Credit: Erika Nizborski Photography.