WHEN Through 10/14: Thu-Fri 8 PM, Sat 2 and 8 PM, Sun 3 PM
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It’s delivered by a highly watchable cast in this midwest premiere by Congo Square Theatre, directed by Derrick Sanders. The Caribbean accents are a departure for the company, which has focused on African-American playwrights for most of its eight years, notably August Wilson. But in British actor and writer Kwei-Armah they’ve found a playwright whose gift for street poetry and feeling for intergenerational conflict is in sync with their own acting skills. The play doesn’t break a lot of new thematic ground, but by tackling an internationally known script–by a writer who’s new to Chicago–Congo Square raises its national profile, and aside from a few slack moments, Sanders and his cast succeed at keeping us engaged.
Ashley wants to do business with Digger, but the older man brushes him aside as too green and too disrespectful of his dad. “You can’t just walk into dis bad man t’ing, you gotta learn the whole science of it. You step into that arena and you better be able to dance wid death til it mek you dizzy,” Digger tells Ashley. But things change when Anastasia, a new waitress with her eye on Deli, begins coaxing him to update the place. That means discouraging Digger from hanging out and making the menu more accessible to non-West Indians by offering items like plantain burgers (even though Clifton observes that “fast and West Indian is a contradiction in terms”). The more Deli shuts Digger out, the more Ashley gravitates toward Hackney’s “yardie” culture.
