Sonnets explores life issues after death

“You stand here and make your statement. That’s it.” With these words, the semi-surrealistic play Sonnets for an Old Century begins.

Sonnets revolves around 16 recently-deceased characters who have been thrown into a temporary limbo between death and eternity. Each character, armed with playwright José Rivera’s fluid prose, makes his or her statement by relating a defining, at times disturbing, experience. “The freedom to speak to the universe is exhilarating and terrifying...,” writes Rivera—who also wrote the upcoming Ché Guevara biopic Motorcycle Diaries—in a letter to the cast.

The performance space in Manbites Dog Theater is transformed into this universe, with the entire area painted black and its floors sprinkled with paintings. The audience, too, becomes part of this universe. Sitting upon chairs resting on raised platforms, the vitality of the audience is figuratively, as well as physically, separated from the spiritual limbo of the characters.

The cast is a mix of seasoned performers and theatrical newcomers. The actors were chosen not only for their talent, but also for their diversity and personal stories. “In all of their cases, there was something compelling or special about who they are that made them right for the piece,” director Jeff Storer says. Among the 16 actors are former and current Duke students, a former biochemistry professor and a precocious 18-year-old non-profit worker with plans to attend acting school.

The cast’s monologues and movements can be intoxicating. Polentzi Mahias saunters then races across the stage in a monologue about having sex despite the world’s tragic and mundane events. Kendell Rileigh’s quivering voice weaves through a story about struggles with sanity until her words are a tangled mass of utterances. Marc Harber poetically relates the simple pleasure of eating a mango on a sun-strewn beach before succumbing to three-piece-suited ambition.

The 16 monologues run the gamut of human emotion, gracefully addressing political and social issues while avoiding harangues. Sonnets focuses on verbally exploring the intricacies of these emotions rather than employing physical or plot-driven action. As a result, patience is useful for experiencing Rivera’s prose.

“A play is not something that you read,” Storer says, “it’s an event...it’s a happening.” Although Sonnets isn’t necessarily eventful, it is a fascinating happening.

Sonnets for an Old Century runs from Sept. 16 to 19 and Sept. 22 to 26 and begins at 8:15pm, except Sundays at 3:15pm. Prices are $15 at the door on Fri/Sat/Sun, $12 on Wed/Thurs; save $2 by purchasing tickets in advance online.