Isaac 骋贸尘别锄鈥檚 one-woman play "The Way She Spoke," now in production at Undermain Theatre in Deep Ellum, is built around interviews 骋贸尘别锄 conducted in Ju谩rez, Mexico, with families of brutally murdered women and girls who began .
Were they killed by who treated them like pawns? The police? A corrupt system that devalues women? All of the above, is the playwright鈥檚 answer.
But , who uses they/them pronouns, also implicates themself and the audience through the use of a meta-theatrical device that鈥檚 brilliant in its simplicity.
The only character onstage is 鈥淭he Actress,鈥� performed with naturalistic force by Gigi Cervantes, last seen in ." The Actress is a friend of the playwright, who鈥檚 asked her to read the play to them. In this way, 骋贸尘别锄 becomes a second but invisible character. Undermain has left an empty chair in the audience to represent the playwright.
The script includes the playwright鈥檚 sometimes harrowing account of their investigative trip to Ju谩rez 鈥� you can almost smell the paranoia 鈥� and the words of the devastated mothers and other relatives 骋贸尘别锄 talked to.
The playwright is intimately familiar with .
With the conceit that the Actress is encountering the script for the first time, the play includes her increasingly agitated reactions to what she鈥檚 reading aloud.
At the end of the play, she recites a list of victims鈥� names until she can鈥檛 stand it anymore. It makes her angry at the playwright, implying that this litany may be exploitative.
The methodical murder of women and girls is not just a Mexican problem: , the flustered Actress offers in the play鈥檚 closing moments.
"," subtitled "A Docu-Mythologia," opens with the Actress meeting with 骋贸尘别锄 after a frustrating audition. The three white guys at the audition, she says while changing clothes, believed she could only play maids and putas.
Undermain鈥檚 designers 鈥� Scott Osborne on set and props, sound by Paul Semrad and lighting by Steve Woods 鈥� create a subtle atmosphere that complements 骋贸尘别锄鈥檚 descriptions of the streets, people and moods of Ju谩rez.
, known for his sensitive attention to detail, directs with a sure hand.
Street sounds creep in, and the imposing columns in , once considered an impediment, have rarely been used better, in this case for graffiti and fading corporate logos.
Cervantes frequently moves around the stage, sitting at first in a chair at a table, later on a wood box and then standing behind a lectern on which the script is propped.
A tire, barrels and concrete blocks are lined up along a black backdrop, which toward the end of the play is revealed to be a scrim. Behind it are haunting symbols of the murders you won鈥檛 be able to get out of your mind.
Details: Through June 18 at Undermain Theatre, 3200 Main St. $20-$30. .
