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Silhouetted at a stand mic, one of them whistles ominously.
A fourth actor rolls across the stage in a ball a human tumbleweed.
No ones wearing spurs, but in our minds we can hear them clinking.
Then people start talking.
Most of the Europeans were starving, and were very poor.
I know, I know poor white people?
Its hard for me to imagine too, but work with me here.
This is the kind of storytelling, and the level of complexity and humor,Dark Noonwill employ throughout.
(These loaded labels are specifically called out and defined in the course of the show.)
Violence had become a part of their DNA, says Tshabalala-Malulycks narrator around the shows halfway point.
It was in their nature.
The only way they knew how to behave was through exercising power.
If this is in earnest, I call bullshit, and if it isnt, why should we care?
In its attempt to topple once-dominant narratives,Dark Noonparticipates in the same fallacies such narratives long relied on.
And while flipping the script might render it hipper, it doesnt make it less superficial.
This isnt reverse racism, which still isnt a real thing.
Its just a shallow, boring way to think about people.
Besides, the First Nations dont come off much better here than the colonizers do.
Burns, a Post-Electric Play, where the characters sit around their after-the-apocalypse campfire attempting to reconstructSimpsonsepisodes from memory.
ButDark Noondoesnt signal that this kind of deliberately fuzzy private mythmaking is the heart of its project.
A voice of God, if you will.
That said, Sam?
Your life is boring.
How about I show you some precious shiny stone to make you rich?
This campy tone is calculated, but that doesnt make it work.
This is what it looks like when you are writing someone elses history.
Can you see how ridiculous it looks?
That is why we are so ridiculous when we are inside the world ofDark Noon.
But just turning the tables of narrative power isnt enough to create a nuanced, revelatory piece of art.
As Irelands thoughtful, painfulPre-Existing Conditionmakes excruciatingly clear, we still dont.
So will Julia Chan, Deirdre OConnell, and Tavi Gevinson.
Theres also the implicationor rather the demonstrable truththat A could be anyone, of any age.
One in three women, the show reminds us, experiences abuse.
I mean, like, what do you want?
people keep asking A.
Do you want revenge or something?
; You should probably just move on.
Let it go; Its still really consuming you.
… Like would you rather have a guy whos just not aggressive, like, ever?
Aand Irelandmay well be trying to regain some sense of her own power, but her project isnt retributive.
Its a search, not a solid answer but a series of questions.
What the fuck do Idowith this?
Its not about him.
Its about you, says B as As therapist.
Even more penetrating is C as a younger friend of As who looks up to her artistically.
Like, is this sort of a thing with you?
she asks brightly, Not valuing your achievements?
You have some nice friends, Connorss D tells A at one point.
Perhapsthatswhat you do with this: Find those friends, take their hands, tell your story.
Dark Noonis at St. Anns Warehouse through July 7.Pre-Existing Conditionis at the Connelly Theater Upstairs through August 3.
