Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Early on in Sean Christopher Lewis’ “Red Hills,” the western academic expects to talk about what’s happened.
“No. No need to talk,” says his Rwandan friend. “We will do.”
That’s at the heart of theater: Theater does, it enacts, it shows. It doesn’t just talk. And “Red Hills,” a world premiere at Quantum Theatre (in collaboration with En Garde Arts of New York), had already grabbed me, “Pow!” with the sudden reveal of its giant performance space, a hillside of red sand, abandoned cars and a distant vista, beneath a roof towering so high it might as well be the sky.
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Quantum Theatre's new production of "Red Hills" is a production that I sincerely wish I could have gotten to see, as it seems to bring up central ideas that so many people today are mulling over as we as a society begins to look more deeply at racism as a larger entity. As Christopher Rawson writes in his review of "Red Hills", the character God's Blessing "brims over with charisma", while David, the professor that wrote on the Rwandan genocide is "blinded to what's going on by his own sense of superiority". This is the classic story of the white imperialist type mindset coming in contact with a more authentic person of color's mindset. While this dynamic may be overplayed in some people's opinions, as we continue to see outright racism and acts of terror committed because of that racism, these stories must continue to be told. The structure of the production also sounds like it would make for a really unique viewing experience. The idea of structuring the audience as a Rwandan community would make the audience even more immersed in the culture that is woven into the play, making audience members more likely to really understand the perspectives brought up in the production.
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