Brittany Deneen, proper, as Emilia and Joe Sykes as William Shakespeare in “The Darkish Woman.” (All pictures by Casey Gardner Ford)
Precisely who Emilia Bassano was has lengthy been disputed, however there’s no mistaking that she is the completely intriguing heart of the brand new play The Darkish Woman, making its U.S. premiere at Synchronicity Theatre.
Written by Jessica B. Hill and directed right here by Alexis Kulani Woodard, The Darkish Woman closes out Synchronicity’s 27th season and runs by way of June 29. It’s a two-character present with robust performances and sensible, usually fascinating hypothesis concerning the titular lady described in Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Will and Emilia presumably make one another’s acquaintance after making eyes at one another, however it seems they’ve met one another earlier than. The 2 quickly uncover that he’s William Shakespeare (Joe Sykes), the writer of three performs, the most recent of which is The Two Gents of Verona, and he or she is Bassano (Brittany Deneen), whose household consists of court docket musicians who play for the queen. He’s married with kids; she is the mistress of Lord Chamberlain. She’s additionally multiracial and multilingual.
There’s a romantic spark between the 2, however Emilia isn’t afraid of talking her thoughts. “You might be shit at writing girls,” she tells Will bluntly mid-dance. Actually, lots of his feminine characters appear to be portrayed by 12-year-old boys. In Emilia’s eyes, she needs extra advanced feminine characters than the playwright has been providing.
They bicker backwards and forwards but stay shut over a number of many years. Emilia turns into Will’s muse, pal and lover. She helps him along with his personal creations as he prospers and turns into (arguably) probably the most prolific playwright of all time — but, satirically, she struggles to change into a author herself. It’s an Elizabethan society the place males are allowed to do what they need, however girls have a lot fewer choices, particularly girls of colour. Bassano finally turned the primary printed feminine poet in England in 1611 with Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, her assortment of poems. Attending to that time, nonetheless, was not simple.
The Darkish Woman is top-heavy with romantic and comedic banter early on, but jells into one thing deeper and rather more satisfying. There’s a real affection and appreciation between the 2 central characters.
It’s simple to see what attracted Synchronicity Theatre to this undertaking. It’s very a lot a couple of robust feminine protagonist, utilizing a recent lens to present us a state of affairs of what might need occurred. Just like the final play I noticed on the firm — Kelundra’s Smith’s The Wash — it’s a finely-spun story about girls discovering their very own power and mettle.
Hill’s dialogue is crisp, playful and sometimes very humorous. “I’m mocked for being too schooled and also you for not being sufficient,” Emilia observes at one level about Will. The play ought to be particularly participating for Shakespeare followers. These two characters have a definitive impression on one another, and their relationship influences Shakespeare’s future canon. When tragedy unexpectedly occurs to Will and Emilia, it exhibits up in Shakespeare’s work.
I ought to notice my shock on the notion that Shakespeare was bisexual and had a relationship with one other man earlier than he started his marriage or his relationship with Bassano. Each he and Emilia appear fairly nonchalant about it; she is extra stunned about his style in males than the truth that he likes them.
Deneen’s Emilia is a lady longing to be taken significantly and to have the alternatives males do. She is enormously interesting within the function, having emotions for Will but additionally seeing how simple it’s for him. She offers him his imaginative and prescient, and he sops up the glory, at the same time as she stays professionally nameless.
Sykes has lengthy been a dependable actor and makes Shakespeare an equally advanced character. He’s a proficient author, for positive, and he advantages from having Emilia round and the recommendation and love she offers him. But he can be insensitive and merciless, at one time speaking about Bassano’s failure as an artist.
The Darkish Woman will not be excellent. The characters age 30 years over the course of the play, and that’s not readily obvious. If it’s generally slightly unclear how a lot time has handed, the performances make up for these shortcomings.
All through the play, musician Andrew Cleveland performs a number of devices, together with a mandolin and a cello. Whereas these moments aren’t completely scripted, playwright Hill has indicated that music is each very important to the play and to Emilia’s household and narrative. At occasions it feels slightly off-putting, however Cleveland’s unique work successfully serves as a stunning complement to what’s going on onstage.
The Darkish Woman is Hill’s maiden play, produced for the primary time in 2023. Additionally an actor and educator, the playwright has said that the undertaking is her try and carry Bassano out of the darkish and out of Shakespeare’s shadow. She has accomplished a really admirable job in doing so, and, beneath Woodard’s sure-footed staging, Synchronicity’s manufacturing is a intelligent, well-acted, breezy 90 minutes.
The place & When
The Darkish Woman is at Synchronicity Theatre by way of June 29. Tickets begin at $37.
1545 Peachtree St. NE., #102
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Jim Farmer is the recipient of the 2022 Nationwide Arts and Leisure Journalism Award for Finest Theatre Function and a nominee for On-line Journalist of the Yr. A member of 5 nationwide critics’ organizations, he covers theater and movie for ArtsATL. A graduate of the College of Georgia, he has written concerning the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the pageant director of Out on Movie, Atlanta’s LGBTQ movie pageant, and lives in Avondale Estates along with his husband, Craig.