Keeping Up With The Emperor Jones

Irish Rep Presents Update of Eugene O'Neill's Gripping Psychological Play

By John Mooney

It would be an understatement to say that the Irish Rep has never staged anything quite like its production of The Emperor Jones before.

Director Ciarán O'Reilly has given an avant garde interpretation of Eugene O'Neill's groundbreaking play about an African-American murderer who sets himself up as monarch of a Caribbean island following his escape from a prison chain gang in the U.S.

When the natives rebel after two years of exploitation, Emperor Jones must run. His escape evolves into a mesmerizing, often macabre, descension into madness.

Stripped of his crown, military coat and ultimately his sanity, Jones loses all of his regal airs and becomes the victim of his own past in a terrifying psychological portrayal of fear and madness. With his demons in heavy pursuit and tom-toms beating, the emperor is forced to confront the mortal sins of his past in search of forgiveness and salvation.

John Douglas Thompson, an OBIE and Lucille Lortel Award-winning actor for last season's revival of Othello, portrays the enigmatic emperor. Physically imposing with a powerful voice, Thompson is a commanding presence in the role, which has been portrayed over the years by renowned stage actors such as Paul Robeson and James Earl Jones. Thompson is able to make the flawed black despot sympathetic to the primarily white audience at the Irish Rep.

Helen Hayes Award-winning actor Rick Foucheux as the cowardly Smithers, who helped Jones escape to the island. The rest of the cast, often masked, includes Michael Akil Davis, Jon Deliz, Sameerah Harris, David Heron and Sinclair Mitchell.

Written shortly after World War I, O'Neill's play is filled with the era's racial stereotypes including a spellbinding witch doctor, pounding tom-tom drums, minstrel-esque dialogue, and racial slurs. In this respect, the show is dated. Its theme of a disenfranchised man taking power in the only way he knows how is a universal lesson that could apply to any group, including blacks, Hispanics, the Irish and other immigrants. At the end, what Emperor Jones wants most is redemption from his past failings.

Ciarán O'Reilly, co-founder of the Irish Rep, directs and makes innovative use of Bob Flanagan's puppet design to provide bizarre torment to the deposed emperor. The puppets bring life to the visions that haunt Jones, including the ghosts of the men he killed, Southern belles, and a slave auction. Charles Corcoran's set design transforms the intimate theatre into a Caribbean jungle, while Barry McNabb's choreography brings the trees in the jungle to life.

The show runs in a limited engagement until November 29. The Emperor Jones is playing to full houses, so plan ahead for tickets.