Review: THIS BITTER EARTH at TheaterWorks Hartford

This Bitter Earth, playing at TheaterWorks in Hartford through March 20, is a moving and poetic work that explores the love between two men, Jesse and Neil, and their central conflict. Taking place between 2012-2015, in New York and St. Paul, the play gives us Jesse, a Black playwright, who wants to pursue his art outside of the turmoil of Black Lives Matter. On the other hand, Neil, filled with white guilt, is a passionate BLM activist, determined to supply whatever support to the movement that he can. Neil is perpetually puzzled by and often angry at Jesse's refusal to become involved, while Jesse fights for his right to life as he likes, despite his skin color.

Tom Holcomb, as Neil, and Damien Thompson, as Jesse, pull us into the action and into Neil's and Damien's poignant and passionate relationship so that we cannot judge; instead, we can only hope and wish, fervently, that these men, and their passionate but precarious love, survive.

Harrison David Rivers' play, expertly directed by David Mendizabal, jumps around in time, with one key scene occurring more than once. However, when other such out-of-sequence dramas can feel, at best, difficult to follow, and at worst, gimmicky, This Bitter Earth uses its staccato, out of sync structure to create tension and, paradoxically, realism. In life, after all, no sooner has one day slipped into the past than it becomes a memory, ready to be shuffled and re-shuffled, depending upon our emotions at any given point. Both characters, and both actors, make this trick of the mind completely believable, and Rivers compliments the audience by challenging us to keep track of both the relationship and the political horrors surrounding it.

The challenge is well worth the 90 minutes we invest in this terrific production. Not only are the actors marvelous, but the set, by Riw Rakkulchon, is beautiful: upstage, we see Jesse's bedroom, in gentle grays, blues, and greens, and downstage, each man has space to break the fourth wall and speak his thoughts and feelings to us. Equally evocative are the costumes, by Devario D. Simmons, which must evoke the changing fashions of the three years covered, and the Lighting Design, by Christina Watanabe. Fight/Intimacy Coach, Rocio Mendez has clearly helped the actors feel relaxed and comfortable with one another in their intimate scenes.

Throughout the worst of the pandemic, TheaterWorks continued bringing us productions in numerous inventive online and outdoor venues. As grateful as I am and was, nothing quite prepared me for how moved I would be as I walked into the newly expanded lobby and then into the stage space, also expanded. The excellence and depth of This Bitter Earth is what I have come to expect from this theater, and while other theaters are understandably choosing crowd-pleasers just to remain solvent, it's no surprise that TheaterWorks remains true to its mission of challenging audiences and bringing complex and thought-provoking productions to its stage.

Photo Credit by Mike Marques

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How To Get Tickets

The play continues at TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street in Hartford through March 20. For further information visit: www.theaterworkshartford.org or call the theatre box office: 860.527.7838. Patrons are required to wear masks and show proof of vaccination and photo I.D. at the door.

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