In The Continuum

From Sept. 10 to 14, Chapel Hill's PlayMakers Repertory Company presented In the Continuum, an edgy, dramatic work illustrating the ravages of AIDS in the lives of two women.

By turns wooing the crowd and lighting the stage were DeWanda Wise and Flor De Liz Perez. Wise takes on the role of Abigail, an ambitious woman from Harare, Zimbabwe, while Perez plays Nia, a rambunctious party girl from South Central Los Angeles. Their simultaneous diagnosis with HIV launches them into a parallel struggle to cope with not only the infection, but also the social constraints and lack of support that comes with living in a patriarchal world.

Like many modern plays with a limited cast, Wise and Perez are the only two actresses. Though the two never physically interact, each woman reflects the distinct flavor of this bicultural story while feeding off of the other's energy. For example, Wise's emphatic gestures complement Perez's rhythmic flow to serve as an expressive extension two vastly different lifestyles.

There is no true dialogue in the production-the audience only ever sees one half of any given conversation. Thanks to a beautifully written script and emotionally dynamic performances, there is no ambiguity as to what is happening. At times, the audience catches glimpses of the other people in the two main characters' lives; Perez, for instance, plays Nia's long-suffering mother, and Wise transforms into a traditional witch-doctor, which fleshes the play out substantially.

Each actress is allotted an equal share of the spotlight. Transitions are frequent but fluid, perfectly choreographed so emotions are carried over from one scene to the next. For the times they do appear together on stage, Wise and Perez are aligned symmetrically to mirror each other's movements to further reinforce their shared experience.

Zimbabwe and Los Angeles are two different worlds, but In The Continuum proves the human response to despair is universal and unchanging.