*EURweb was among those lucky invitees who witnessed the opening of Nambi E. Kelly’s rendition of the Richard Wright classic novel “Native Son” last month at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City, California.
The performances closed out the trilogy of plays included in the Center Theatre Group’s Block Party. Other productions were “For The Love Of” (presented by Theatre of Note) and Rotterdam (presented by the Skylight Theatre Company). Native Son was presented in conjunction with the Antaeus Theatre Company and was directed by Andi Chapman (Associate Artistic Director of Ebony Repertory Theatre).
The cast was comprised of a talented ensemble with Jon Chaffin as the troubled young man called “Bigger” and Noel Arthur as “The Black Rat.” For those unfamiliar with the original work of art, the Bigger/Black Rat characters operate as the ego and alter ego.
Bigger is the real life character facing overlapping bad situations against the tide of Chicago’s racism and poverty in 1939. Bigger is coerced into a compromising position by a young, rich and free-spirited Caucasian socialite. She is oblivious to the danger that she has put Bigger in, by proximity alone.
An unthinkable accident occurs and the results are lethal. Bigger frantically jolts into one bad decision after another. The Rat is the svelte and omni-present conscience who speaks and taunts with every moment of Bigger’s doomed life.
EURweb asked Noel Arthur about taking on the artistic responsibilities of bringing to life the work of the great Richard Wright and the newly interpreted version of his work by Nambi E. Kelly
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EURweb: What was your experience or exposure to Richard Wright’s work prior to your appearance in Native Son?
Noel Arthur: In tenth grade we read, BLACK BOY, Wright’s other prominent novel. As a recently immigrated Caribbean teenager, coming to Harlem, NYC from Trinidad and Tobago, the themes of a father-less childhood, alienation and racial inequality permeating the book resonated with me profoundly. I would read NATIVE SON only after getting cast in the play. In addition to being reintroduced to Wright’s voice, the historical context of how important NATIVE SON became in the forties added more weight to my read and my decision to do the production.
EURweb: How would you compare your character’s inner struggle in 1939 Chicago to the inner struggles faced by young men today?
Noel Arthur: In Nambi E. Kelley’s adaptation of NATIVE SON, my character, THE BLACK RAT has been inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois’s essay, THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK. The essay addresses the concept of Double Consciousness and the necessity for people of color to code switch as a matter of survival in America. I am the manifestation of BIGGER THOMAS‘ inner struggle that helps him to overcome second guessing his humanity. In my opinion, the inner struggle for young Black men, from then to now remains the same. As young Blacks continue to be shot under thinly veiled pretenses while white police officers are being acquitted, people of color continue to live in duality of being Americans and being Black in America.
EURweb: Who inspired you as a stage actor?
Noel Arthur: I am fascinated by actors who can weave spells on stage like Jeffrey Wright and Denzel Washington. They are masters of charisma.
EURweb: What was most challenging about your role in Native Son?
Noel Arthur: The Black Rat is the voice of the higher self inside Bigger’s head, so I primarily interacted with only Jon Chaffin who plays Bigger. This created the fun challenge of having to help tell the story without talking directly to the other actors. Jon and I share lines that we work to deliver at the speed of the thought of a single mind, which is no easy feat. My director, Andi Chapman also required me to be as fully formed a character as possible to stay away from an ethereal, magical place holder on stage. Instead, my wants and needs were deeply internalized and augmented Bigger’s plight in delicious counterpoint at times of emotional over spill.
EURweb: Though there are other versions of Native Son, why should audiences see this stage version in particular?
Noel Arthur: Nambi E. Kelley’s adaptation won her the blessing of Richard Wright’s estate because of her dramatization of the concept of The Black Rat as a device to create a dialogue of empathy for Black men’s plight in America. Wherein Wright’s book presented the legacy of oppressive options available to American Black men, and in a sense portrayed them as monsters, Kelley’s adaptation asks of its audience to go on a frenetic journey through the mind maze of a young Black man in trouble, to see him simply as a man, albeit flawed. I believe her hope is that young Black men viewing the play may know they are worthy and deserving of basic respect and equal rights, regardless of their circumstances. In addition, on the theme of empathy, any viewers unfamiliar or apathetic to living the American Black experience may come to some sympathetic understanding that a young Black man, is a man, is someone’s son, is someone worthy of love, acknowledgement and respect. If Kelley’s adaptation engenders more empathy and helps one less Black boy get wrongfully profiled or shot because of their skin color, it will earn its place as a worthy successor to Wright’s original novel.
Noel Arthur can be seen next as Brother in the TV movie “The Bible.” He has appeared on Scrubs, Jane The Virgin, NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. The Center Theatre Group has a full line up happening now including The Falsettos at The Ahmanson, Happy Days at the Mark Taper Forum, and Dana H at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. For details visit: https://www.centertheatregroup.org/
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