Burbage Theatre Co., in partnership with WomensWork Theatre Collaborative, present the Rhode Island premiere of ‘hang’ by debbie tucker green. Lynne Collinson, Director. Trevor Elliott, Set Design. Riley Nedder, Costume Design. At the Wendy Overly Studio Theatre, 59 Blackstone Avenue, Pawtucket, RI, through February 16, 2025.
By Linda Chin
It wasn’t long after I took my seat in the cozy and intimate Overly Studio Theatre that I began to suspect that an intriguing experience was in store.
Onstage, a nondescript round table, four chairs, and a water cooler with a stack of plastic cups on top establish the space – a generic, windowless conference room of an unnamed institution – with a starkness that creates a mood of cold indifference. A giant “funhouse” mirror spanning the stage’s back wall invitingly drew me in, but seeing the distorted reflections of the folks in the house and the sense of being watched (or being forced to participate) admittedly felt more eerie than fun. The simple yet evocative set design by Trevor Elliott piqued my curiosity – were we at a clinical facility, corporate headquarters, or an interrogation room? Was this play set in the UK (where the British playwright directed the world premiere of hang in 2015) or the US? Is the mirror a functional (two-way) stage prop or a metaphor?
On the front of the double-sided program card (also a simple and evocative design), the single-word title hang is prominently displayed in a large bold font (the lowercase is tucker green’s stylistic choice for the play’s name, as well as her own). Above the title, a delicate line drawing of Lady Justice, an ancient Roman goddess holding scales that represent the balance and impartiality of the judicial system, hints at the play’s “weighty” themes. On the flip side, we learn that the production runs about 80 minutes with no intermission and is a three-hander, but the play’s setting (time and place) remains unclear. The ensemble members are also unnamed, referred to as One, Two, and Three, and are portrayed by actors Margaret Melozzi, Aaron Morris, and MJ Daly, respectively. Perusing the program raised more questions than answers, including: What are the moral dilemmas hanging in the balance? Are One, Two, and Three listed in order of appearance, age, or hierarchy? What are the characters’ genders and races, and is inequity in the judicial system one of the play’s central themes? Or, what is this play about?
In response to the latter question, my general overview follows (readers fearing spoilers can proceed to the next paragraph): The play hang is about a woman (Three, who is Black) who has a man’s life in her hands and an unspeakable decision to make. The man has committed a horrible undisclosed crime against Three and her family that has shattered their lives, and Three is in the position of deciding how the perpetrator is to die for his actions. One and Two are bureaucrats at an institution that is part of the judicial system who have the responsibility of “executing” the decision-making process. One, a White woman who is senior in job title, experience, and age to her colleague; Two (a man who is also White) first met Three several years before. Their goal for this meeting is to finalize the documentation for Three’s decision, which includes informing her of a new development that has arisen.
Remarkably well-crafted and lyrically written, playwright debbie tucker green tells the story of Three’s unspeakable decision with a balance of dramatic moments and dark humor. The production team’s collaboration in contributing to the storytelling is evident. Director Lynne Collinson’s experience, eye for stage pictures, and attention to pacing – and pauses – build and sustain the tension and keep us engaged. Margaret Melozzi, Aaron Morris and MJ Daly deserve high praise for delivering nuanced performances of such emotionally hefty material with seeming ease. In their portrayals of work colleagues desperate to succeed in this pressurized high-stakes situation, Melozzi (One) and Morris (Two) are fabulous scene partners, expertly feeding off each other’s energy and demonstrating their flair for physical acting and improvisation in the comedic moments. In her portrayal of the woman who has experienced indescribable suffering herself and is ‘trying to hold her shit [and her family] together,’ Daly’s (Three’s) steely resolve and resilience, ability to convey a range of emotions without words but with subtle movements, trembling hands or expressive eyes, and sheer stamina (she’s on stage for most of the production) are impressive.
In this gripping production there are few static moments to replay the dialogue or unravel the plot twists, and at the play’s end, audience members should not expect to have a full understanding of “what really happened.” What you can expect, should you make the decision to see this must-see production, is to hang on Melozzi, Morris and Daly’s every word, and experience a production of hang that is a master class in acting. For more information and tickets, go to: https://www.burbagetheatre.org/hang
