Review: The Horrifying Realities of THE DARKNESS AND OTHER BLACK THINGS

Make no mistake about it, Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva is a formidable presence in any room. And when that room is a theater, her personality fills the space like no other to be found on a Nashville stage.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that when the house opens at The Barbershop Theater for the audience to begin filing in to take their seats to see her in The Darkness and Other Black Things, she is waiting at centerstage for them to settle in for what promises to be a wild and oh-so-challenging ride.

Waiting, no matter how passive that sounds, is indeed an active exercise for the stellar JW-O: indeed, it is an in-your-face, stare-you-down, frankly frightening and somewhat unsettling welcome (and that term is used very loosely here) from the commanding, self-assured and supremely confident woman who's been an integral part of the theater scene in Tennessee from childhood.

Now, with a one-woman show to unleash upon a possibly unsuspecting audience, you may be certain that she has something to say. That's another thing about which to be mindful: JW-O isn't one of those vapid and vague actors who prattles on about nothing - because she is, instead, refreshingly direct and absolutely forthright. If she's asking you to spend an hour with her, you may rest assured the woman has something on her mind and the time has come for her to let you know precisely what she's thinking.

The Darkness and Other Things, directed by Alicia Haymer (one of the region's most sought-after directors), onstage through October 31, is a revival - a "re-vamp," if you will - of a show Whitcomb-Oliva first wrote some two years ago for Kindling Arts Festival.

Presented in 2021, during the waning (we hope) months of a worldwide pandemic, during which there's been a paucity of compelling theater by which to be challenged, The Darkness and Other Things promises to make its audiences feel uneasy about the world in which they've lived for far too long, to be made acutely aware of social inequities and to force them to consider their roles - no matter how woke they might consider themselves to be in their largely suburban, Tesla-driving, liberal-leaning lives - in maintaining the status quo.

While marketing efforts have attempted to capitalize on the public's penchant for scary stuff at this time of year, the material found in Whitcomb-Oliva's hourlong treatise of the soul-baring and fang-bearing horrors of contemporary life in the American South (well, it could be set in any part of the country, to be honest, but the show's themes of racial injustice seem particularly resonant in the Confederate statue-loving, rebel flag-brandishing, boot-scooting, bachelorette party-celebrating buckle of the bible belt) seems far more embarrassing and shameful for members of her predominantly white audience (who, quite frankly, should have been scared of their unspoken acquiescence to life in these here parts for a long time coming) than likely to elicit blood-curdling screams.

Instead of zombies, vampires and assorted other monsters haunting their dreams, chances are their nightmares will be filled with bigoted good ol' boys, holier-than-thou housewives from the "best" neighborhoods and law enforcement officers who believe justice should be meted out with antebellum rage. Audiences leaving The Darkness and Other Things are unlikely to sleep as soon as they realize they haven't done enough - if anything, admit itI - to change the world in which they (and their people) have thrived for generations.

Credit, therefore, is due to Whitcomb-Oliva and Haymer who have crafted a mesmerizing hour of sheer brutality and honest self-reflection that is sure to engage and, hopefully, to enrage.

Perhaps more noteworthy, from a theatrical standpoint, is how this production allows Whitcomb-Oliva to speak her truth with fervent authenticity that is guaranteed to make viewers uncomfortable, even as it allows her to put every tool in her actor's bag of tricks on display and to show her tremendous depth and awe-inspiring versatility. Heretofore best known as a musical theater artist, The Darkness and Other Things gives her the wherewithal to be astonishing and heartbreaking in equal measure. You may think you know JW-O before you see her in this provocative and challenging work, but you need to reconsider that notion. Did you ever really know her at all?

The Darkness and Other Things. By Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva. Directed by Alicia Haymer. Presented by Verge Theater Company at The Barbershop Theater, 4003 Indiana Avenue, Nashville. Through October 31. For more information and for tickets, go to www.thebarbershoptheater.com. Running time: 1 hour, with no intermission.

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