Maia Kahn
“A play disguised as a magic show where history and illusion intertwine.” This is the beginning of the premise of Blackbox, a new piece written and directed by Rickerby Hinds that examines the true story of Henry “Box” Brown: a man who escaped slavery in 1849 in an extraordinary way. Two performers (Josiah Alpher and Jada Evelyn Ramsey) recount his life through chapters marked by magic tricks symbolising different struggles – impossibly tied knots, paper families ripped apart, and disappearing handkerchiefs interrupt more traditional storytelling to mirror the precarious reality Alpher grew up in. Hinds’ play has a great theatrical setup but, in practice, often tells more than it shows.
Ramsey has an instantly mermerising physicality that calls to mind Bob Fosse’s Leading Player in Pippin. Her dance to the preshow music continues unaccompanied when Alpher begins speaking; the result is a unique complementing of movement and words that buoys the best parts of the show. The passages sometimes rhyme, taking on a musical quality that flows nicely into the sung gospel sections. The theme of faith as told through stories of Brown’s mother is powerfully verbalised. Likewise, when the actors sync up their gestures, some striking stage pictures take shape. The weaker moments arise when the direction overly focuses text rather than texture. Sound, lighting, and costume transitions feel underutilised for long stretches of time and the elliptical script can veer into the flowery when a character just stands and speaks as in a segment toward the middle concerning Nat Turner.
Unfortunately, Blackbox buries its lede: the most fascinating part of the story, how Brown finally achieved freedom by mailing himself in a wooden box to Pennsylvania abolitionists. This comes as a rapid-fire sequence far too close to the end of the show. I wished the script’s winding language had luxuriated more in this part of the story, the true trick the magic show has under its belt, but with only a 60-minute runtime consisting largely of monologue it seemed to rush past its own selling point when push came to shove. It also would’ve been great to hear about Brown’s subsequent life as an entertainer in the UK and eventually his native US.
Haunting and lyrical, Blackbox tells a singular tale of faith and the means to freedom. With some more development it will really be able to work its magic.
Recommended drink: A cortado: sometimes smooth, sometimes bitter
You can catch Blackbox at Bellybutton, Underbelly Cowgate at 12:40 (1 hour) until 30 Aug. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Salvador Kent
Tom Clayton
Hannah Hamilton
