Surprising 'Kill Move Paradise' tries to fathom why so many Black men are dying young
One at a time, young Black men land abruptly at the bottom of an impossibly steep ramp: Isa (Marques Causey) the poet, thoughtful Grif (Ibraheem Farmer) and the visceral Daz (Dimonte Henning).
Shocked and disoriented by their transition, they begin to grasp their situation. They're in some kind of bardo following their unexpected deaths. And another surprise: They notice a roomful of people watching them.
That would be us, the audience at Next Act Theatre's production of "Kill Move Paradise" by James Ijames, directed by Marti Gobel, which continues through Oct. 16. It is unlikely you will see another show like this on a Milwaukee stage this year; it is well worth your time to see this one.
Cryptic instructions (delivered by paper airplane!) task the men first with remembering. Isa reads from an endless litany of names spit out by a printer, including Amadou Diallo, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Jay Anderson and Dontre Hamilton — all killed by police. After much struggle, our trio begin to recover what brought them here.
But even these worldly three are shocked when the next one arrives: a boy nicknamed Tiny (Joseph Brown Jr.), still holding the neon toy weapon he was playing with.
From time to time, they engage the watching audience. A few moments are hostile, others are friendly. The dominant tone is curiosity: Why are you here? What do you get out of this?
Lest I leave you with an incomplete impression, as serious as this play is, this production is also filled with humor, enhanced by the physicality and rapport of the actors.
As enacted by Causey, Farmer, Henning and Brown Jr., "Kill Move Paradise" has some of the best and most powerful silences I've experienced in a stage production in a long time. Anyone who appreciates the plays of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter will be at home watching this production.
But I am not suggesting that playwright Ijames is drawing anything from the Theatre of the Absurd.
What these men have gone through is plenty absurd enough on its own.
Note: This story has been corrected to remove the name of Trayvon Martin from the list of people killed by police. Martin was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
Contact Jim Higgins at jim.higgins@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jhiggy.
If you go
Next Act Theatre performs "Kill Move Paradise" through Oct 16 at 255 S. Water St. Visit nextact.org or call (414) 278-0765. Next Act requires audience members to wear masks during this production.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Kill Move Paradise' tries to fathom why so many Black men die young
