Review: Riverside Actors Theatre and Nightingale Theatre Collective Premieres LIGHT BLIND at The Public Theatre

Theatre with a purpose seems to be a big push in Arkansas, and Broadway World is thrilled to be included in this abundance of creativity. Our most recent love is the Riverside Actors Theatre led by the ultra-talented Ben Grimes, who wrote their newest endeavor LIGHT BLIND, which was presented May 31 and June 1 at The Public Theatre in partnership with Nightingale Theatre Collective.  Broadway World was part of a test group who participated in a talk-back after the show. This showing was a dramatic read-through being workshopped into an actual production in the future. It was exciting to see this process firsthand. 

LIGHT BLIND follows the life of 15 year-old Jason Allen (Peyton Greenwood) who kills his father’s meth dealer and is sentenced to adult prison for 15 years. While in prison, he is subjected to all sorts of adult horror. In between the prison scenes, he is in and out of court having to recount his actions and hearing the verdicts. He goes through the process so much that he grows tired and doesn’t even care if he is paroled or not. During the end of his term, Jason learns how to translate braille and becomes one of the leading transcribers in the United States.   

Taking inspiration from Robert Siegal with National Public Radio reporting on Jeremy Armstrong’s “A Youth Spent in Prison” this ensemble tells the story of what it was like for a juvenile in maximum security, the people who helped put him there, and the circumstances surrounding the whole deal. This play evoked so many feelings and thoughts, and it was wonderful being able to hear what others thought about the play.  

After the show, the audience members were asked their thoughts about what was presented.  

“It was so heartbreaking, you know,” one woman said. “And watching this, I just thought about every person that's in prison has a story. Every person has a background, and every time you said your number, ohh gosh.” 

The gentleman behind me voiced his feeling about the portrayal of the parole board. “The frustration of being in the situation and the parole board not taking it seriously or not....it takes more guts than they have in letting someone out and just so much easier to keep them in, not think about it, not care. I was frustrated because of my own knowledge of that. I wanted it to be even more frustrating. It’s just so ridiculous, but I’ve never seen it from the perspective of the person inside. I’ve seen it in a different context with a different board and a friend of mine and just nobody cares...nobody’s listening. It's really important to show us that.” 

Another hot topic was the question of what is considered child-like behavior and what is adult behavior. “Jason was an adult from a very young age, because he had parents who were drug addicts....you know...getting himself to school, making good grades, wanting the lights to be on, wanting food on the table,” a mother spoke. “There’s a book called Primal Teen, and it talks about the development of the brain and literally where a child is in their developmental stages with their brain. So, (the play showed Jason) growing up in a sense where he had to be an adult from a young age to be able to do things to survive, but, (we are also) looking at it from kind of a Maslow's hierarchy or something like that, you know, acting impulsively as a child.” 

Though the story surrounded Jason, the ensemble cast took turns representing various people in Jason’s journey. Peyton Greenwood embodied the scared teenage boy. They made all the mommas in the audience want to protect him. When his mom (Heather Dupree) was scrambling on the floor freaking out about something, I was afraid for Jason. When the drug dealer’s mother (Verda Davenport-Booher) was concerned about her son’s death, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Also, I didn’t catch the actor’s name, but whoever was the scary prisoner blowing kisses and cat calling Jason, that got me too. The whole cast really crafted the story so much so that I did not need an actual play to appreciate what was being presented.  

Ben Grimes has written something special, and I can’t wait to see the completed work on the stage.  

Cast of Light Blind: 

Brandon Paul Eells 

Verda Davenport-Booher 

Heather Dupree 

Greg Fallon 

Peyton Greenwood 

Jeremy Williams    

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