Review: WE ARE CONTINUOUS at New Conservatory Theatre Center

we are continuous

By Harrison David Rivers

Directed by ShawnJ West

New Conservatory Theatre Center

In an opening voiceover, Simon explains how meticulously his mother Ora set the dining table. Then there’s a crash of glass – something is broken and needs healing in this West Coast Regional premiere of Harrison David Rivers’ heartfelt and culturally authentic family recollections.

Simon, ostensibly a young Harrison, explains his ‘coming out’ story in humorous detail: knowing of his difference at age six, the exploration of gay sex on the internet and those magic consummations. Devin A. Cunnigham plays Simon with a calm, endearing assurance that had the gay men in the audience nodding in agreement with his shared anecdotes. Simultaneously, his mother delivers her own monologue – her ‘knowing’ of her son’s difference, her absolute love for her son and her conflicting duty to her unaccepting husband. Alicia Stamps gives a riveting, sometimes heartbreaking performance that had the black women in the audience mm-hmming.

The act of coming out comes naturally to Simon, who must separate from his family to create his own environment, eventually finding his husband played by Walter Zarnowitz. Walter provides his third-party observations fleshing out the happenings. We can empathize with Ora, caught between the love of her son and her anti-gay husband. These parental challenges are well known within the LGBTQ community and Rivers beautifully exposes the side effects, while humanizing and not demonizing the players.

Ora, who doesn’t carry pictures of her son, muses on how people judge the ‘closeness’ between people. We know she has absolute devotion to her son, but their relationship is fractured by distance – both physical and emotional. Simon’s vicious domestic abuse attack, his engagement and wedding are all missed opportunities that break Ora’s heart.  When Simon announces his newly diagnosed HIV status it’s a final tear in the fabric of this family. Simon and his husband will survive, they have each other and the strength that chosen gay families must create.

We never see the father Hoyt, yet we know men like him. Disappointed by their gay children, they may feel like failures - unaware of the harm they perpetrate in the name of their religious morals. Unconditional love is the only cure here and Ora and Simon Will have the opportunity to heal. Director ShawnJ West wrings out realistic performances from his cast and allows Rivers’ touching script to unfold before us. Rivers’ we are continuous is another feather is the cap of critically acclaimed playwright (This Bitter Earth and Interlude) and another success for Artistic Director Ed Decker’s repertoire.     

we are continuous continues through November 26th. For more information, please visit the link below or call the box office at (415) 861-8972.

Photo Credit: Lois Tema

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