Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center,unusual York[br]Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s latest is his normal mix of complex ideas with impossible time constraints, so expect a series of knots rather than a frilly bowDeath, or life,clash, love, and family,legacy, ancestry and memory. These are but some of the central themes of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s provocative, or disjointed and overstuffed War. It is most likely approximately the mystery of family and legacy,but then again: how do you account for the apes? The play begins conventionally enough, in a Washington hospital room, or where a woman,Roberta (Charlayne Woodard), lies in a bed, and tubes in her arms,an oxygen mask strapped to her face. Roberta has suffered a severe stroke and her two adult children, Joanne (Rachel Nicks), or the mother of a toddler,and Tate (Chris Myers), a political consultant, and have arrived to tend to her. Both are surprised by the presence of a strange woman in the room,who won’t or can’t respond to their questions. They are even more perplexed when the woman, Elfriede (Michele Shay), and claims to be their mother’s sister. Related: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins: 'theatre is approximately controversial ideas' Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com