ECLIPSED
Written by Danai Gurira
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Through June 19, 2016
John Golden Theatre
252 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200),www.EclipsedBroadway.com
By David NouNou
Freedom, loss of identity, sexual servitude, dignity, self-worth, guilt and anonymity are only some of the issues that Danai Gurira presents in her brilliant play Eclipsed. Caught up in the brutal violence of Liberian civil war, we meet five remarkable women.
Four have been torn from their families, childhood and innocence at an early age only to become known through their anonymity as Wife #1, Wife #2, Wife #3 and the Girl. Wife #1 (Saycon Sengbloh) is the eldest and has been in servitude to the master known as the C.O. for over 10 years, since she was 15, and is now the protector. Wife #2 (Zainab Jah) has escaped sexual servitude and has taken up arms and is fighting alongside the rebels. Wife #3 (Pascale Armand) has managed to retain her self-esteem and slight vanity and is carrying the C.O.’s. baby. The fourth is simply known as The Girl (Lupita Nyong’o), and she has wandered into the camp after her village has been ravaged and she has lost her family.
The Girl is bright and knowledgeable and meets her fate the hard way one night while having to relieve herself and the light of her innocence is gone.
The fifth woman, Rita (Akosua Busia), is the mediator with the C.O. for the release of the women and a salvation for them, depending on each woman whether she feels there is anything left to salvage.
We have read in the papers and seen on television the plight that has befallen the women and especially the young girls who have been taken from their families in Liberia, Nigeria, and Somalia, to name a few. In this instance, Ms. Gurira is literally placing us in the midst of all this chaos and horror that has befallen these countries and especially the misery these women endure on a daily basis.
The performances are brilliantly nuanced and paced by Lisel Tommy. She hits every emotional peak and devastating defeat to the maximum effect that the play offers. This effect is that it is an ensemble piece and each woman is given her due identity. Lupita Nyong’o as The Girl has the most complex part. The Girl’s transformation from the bright and eager young girl we first meet to the guilt-ridden rebel she has become, and the way she must grapple with the choices she has made, is fascinating.
Saycon Sengbloh, as the older Wife #1 and earth mother who ultimately finds salvation, is sensational. Pascale Armand as Wife #3 provides the humor needed to lighten the evening and she is sheer perfection. Zainab Jah is beautiful, fascinating and frightening as Wife #2, the rebel fighter using her ingenuity for survival. Akosua Busia brings dignity to Rita as the mediator for these women.
Eclipsed is not lighthearted fare but it is certainly a night for enlightenment and the power of women.
Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 11, 2016
Reviewed at performance on April 10, 2016