At a press screening of Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” several years ago, I sat through the dramatized depiction of the life of the slave Solomon Northup, in all of its austere, made-for-the-Oscars glory. Watching the researchers conducting the retreat (an interracial lesbian couple) lead the black participants in unpacking their resentment, anger and irritation toward their white partners was discomforting. And it was difficult to sit with the play’s final moments, which involve a sexually violent and emotional catharsis. There were fewer of us the second time I saw “Save Play,” during one of the final preview showings last week. The audience was mostly white, and, unsurprisingly, that sense of community didn’t have quite the same power as it did during the Black Out.

Source: New York Times October 07, 2019 10:01 UTC