When it come to giving us a fresh perspective on racially charged events, it seems as though women playwrights and performers often do it best. Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 helped us see the LA riots through another spectrum. With Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith, we get a new look at the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Until the Flood is now playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City through February 23rd.
For those who don’t recall, Brown was an unarmed black teenager who was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson in 2014. The shooting prompted extensive protests about police brutality. When the St. Louis County prosecutor announced in November of that year that no charges would be filed against officer Wilson, more protests ensued.
Orlandersmith takes all of this as the starting point for Until the Flood, which was commissioned by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. She conducted numerous interviews for her play, but rather than offer up an oral history of the events that took place, she has created composites from the people with whom she’s spoken.
She’s not trying to solve the guilt or innocence of Officer Wilson, she is more interested in examining how both the black and white communities within Ferguson processed the tragedy.
Neel Keller directs Until the Flood. The show runs approximately 70 minutes without an intermission.
For tickets go here.
Dael Orlandersmith in “Until the Flood” (Photo by Robert Altman/Courtesy of Center Theatre Group)
