Theatre in Review: Born Bad (Soho Rep) In all good writing, God is in the details, right? If you're telling a story, it only improves by being made more concrete, correct? Even the mysterious universes of Beckett and Pinter have their distinctive features; we may not fully grasp the rules that govern them, but we feel certain that they exist. Isn't that right? Now that I've met up with Debbie Tucker Green, I'm beginning to wonder. In Born Bad, Green sets up an explosive family situation, full of abuse, secrets, and lies. But, by carefully suppressing the details, she transforms what might otherwise have been TV-movie-of-the-week material into a frequently tense and crackling drama, populated with characters who wield their limited words like cudgels. The minute you enter the theatre and see Mimi Lien's ultrastylized set -- a wooden floor, an upstage wall covered with brown floral wallpaper, a slatted ceiling, chairs scattered everywhere -- you know that you are entering an alternative universe. There's something oddly noncomforting about the rendition of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" that we hear as the lights come up on the main character, known as Dawta, staring at her father and demanding, "Say it. Say it. Daddy. Say it." One blackout later, and the entire family has assembled -- Dawta, Dad, Mum, two Sisters, and Brother. Dawta is heaping abuse on Mum, in a scene that may set a world record for the use of the word "bitch." We quickly realize that Dawta blames Mum for not protecting her from Dad. Sister #1 denies anything happened. Sister #2 takes a more guarded line, saying different things at different times. Brother admits that Dad did something to him, too, and, in one of the play's more powerful ironies, confesses to feeling less special now that he knows he wasn't really singled out by the older man. The words are accusatory, the emotions are intense -- and yet, somehow, Dad's actual crimes are never named. It almost seems too obvious to note that it is probably sexual abuse, but the inability of the characters to identify the evil festering in their midst -- not even Dawta, who has set the drama in motion with her rage -- increases the tension level to a striking degree. Furthermore, it sets you to wondering which is worse -- the specific nature of Dad's crimes or the fact of the betrayal that he has visited on his family? Interestingly enough, he remains an almost totally withdrawn figure, the center of his chaotic family universe, and the prime mover of its agony. If the result is something like Harold Pinter translated into a British black vernacular, it's also clear that Green has a voice of her own and dramatist's instincts. However, one must add that Born Bad, which won an Olivier Award, is somewhat hobbled by its own format. Each scene unfolds as a kind of sparring match between different members of the family, and each of them is pitched at pretty much the same level of invective. If individual scenes jump to life, the overall effect is a little bit flat; also once the conventions of the play have been established, there's little in the way of development. Even with a 60-minute running time, the author is pushing her luck. In any event, the director, Leah C. Gardiner, gets a set of emotionally committed performances from the cast, even if their West Indian accents tend to come and go a bit. Heather Alicia Simms drives the action as Dawta, and Quincy Tyler Bernstein and Crystal A. Dickinson make a formidable pair as the sisters. Elain Graham makes a strong impression as Mum, her pious, ladylike façade crumbling with grief as she begins to grasp the horror at the core of her family's history. In addition, Lien's set is beautifully lit by Michael Chybowski, principally using two sets of five vertical ministrips, one set on each wall at right and left. He also lights through the set's ceiling to create striking patterns on the deck. Matt Sherwin's sound design provides any number of covers of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Paul Tazewell's costumes are perfectly suitable for the characters. Because the author has such a fresh voice, Born Bad is the kind of play that sometimes gets overpraised. Still, even if it amounts to little more than formally intriguing, sometimes gripping experiment, it's more than enough to put Green on the list of names to watch. She has a very interesting mind and a talent for drama. -- David Barbour 
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