Tribes - Moving, Delicate, and Dynamic Theater

                I finished out my whirlwind trip to NYC with my fifth show in two days down in the Village at the Barrow Street Theatre.  Before the show, I took the subway down to Christopher Street, wandered around, got a snack at Amy’s Bread, and had a very pleasant time exploring the neighborhood.  Even though I love to go to New York as often as possible, and so desperately want to be a “local,” let’s face it – I’m a tourist.  I’m a girl who travels up from North Carolina to be amazed by everything New York has to offer.  This was my first time spending quality time wandering around the Village.  I had been to the Lortel Theatre to see Carrie, but I didn’t get to do a whole lot of exploring.  I love the neighborhood.  It’s eclectic and fun.

                The Barrow Street Theatre is quite unassuming – it’s in a building called Greenwich House.  Walking by, you’d never know it’s a theater.  I literally had to find the “27” on the building before I was certain that I was in the right place.

                The performance space itself is not big (it is, after all, an Off-Broadway house), but they do so much with it.  There were seats on all four sides of the square performance space in the middle.  The space was a living room/dining area with a gorgeously made “skylight.”

                Tribes tell the story of Billy, a young Deaf man, raised in a hearing family – a family which made no effort to understand that there is such a thing as Deaf culture, and did not teach him sign or anything like that.  He speaks well, and is a skilled lip-reader.  He meets a woman named Sylvia, who comes from a Deaf family, who introduces him to the Deaf world, but who herself is struggling with the fact that she is losing her hearing.

                First of all, I need to get one thing off my chest – I think I’m in love with Russell Harvard, who plays Billy.  Not only is the man an incredibly talented actor who took on a very tough role with Billy, but he’s also extremely easy on the eyes.  Harvard, a deaf actor who has made a name for himself with some key film roles, took on some extremely challenging stuff with Tribes.  He speaks for most of the show, but he also has to make mistakes and such when he speaks, which is challenging.  I saw a funny interview he did in which he reminded the audience to be kind, because he doesn’t actually know what a British accent sounds like.  I think he did a great job, and the folks I was sitting with and I agreed that the accent thing was totally irrelevant.  He did an impeccable job, as did the rest of the stellar ensemble cast.

                I was so compelled by this well-told (Drama Desk-winning) story.  It really presented the Deaf world as populated by real people with their own gifts and shortcomings.  Especially having seen Clybourne Park the day before, which showed such a one-dimensional portrayal of a deaf person, I was moved by how real these characters were.  Billy is desperate to find a place he belongs in the world, but also needs to lash out about who he is and the people he comes from.  Sylvia, his love interest and guide into the Deaf world, is such a dynamic and complex character, as she comes from a world which won’t let her mourn the fact that she’s losing her hearing.  The two meet in such a wonderful way that tells such a fantastic story.  Nina Raines (the playwright) never once presents Deafness as a handicap, but she does acknowledge its challenges.  People who are culturally Deaf do not generally view their Deafness as a handicap, but rather as a source of cultural pride.  I only know this from a nominal amount of research that I’ve done, but it’s clear that Raines knows her stuff.  She’s able to tackle big issues in such a delicate yet head-on way.

                I especially enjoyed the scenes of interaction between Billy and his brother.  His brother is battling his own demons, and Billy has been like his anchor for some time.  Truth time: I cried a lot when they interacted.  I was just so moved.

                Along with the beautiful skylight, there were some other creative elements of the show which I really loved.  There was need for some subtitles when characters were only signing and not speaking.  The projections were done on unique surfaces – the side of the window, the mattress, etc., so that it seemed an organic part of that world.  It didn’t seem like “translations,” but just felt like their words popping up.

                I met some really cool people in the audience, as well.  I sat with a couple from Los Angeles who have done a lot of work with a Deaf theater company out west.  We had an interesting chat.  I told them about how I teach American Sign Language to hearing primary students, and how I try my best to include as much about Deaf culture as possible.  We had some great chats, and at the end, we applauded in ASL together, which was pretty cool.

                I know that I make a lot of recommendations for shows, but I really, truly believe that Tribes is one of the best pieces of theater I’ve ever seen, and I think the Hearing world needs to see this play.