Cloud 9

Venturing into contemporary dramatic literature can be rather traumatic to put it mildly. There are certain parts of yourself you have to suspend when you read these kind of things, and when you're done, you close to book, look up calmly, and have a mild outburst that is something along the lines of "The f**k did I just read?"

Now, when you push that feeling aside about these pieces of work and discuss these pieces and really analyze them, you can stretch yourself and really get to places you never really thought you could, really see into someone else's lives in a way you didn't think was possible. Intellectual push-ups, if you will.

Then again, I love plays.

I might be a dork. I've made my peace with this fact, if you're wondering.

I'm saying all this because I recently enjoyed a play entitled Cloud 9, a play by Caryl Churchill. It was a complicated play not necessarily in content, but in its intended execution. The first act is about a British family that is a part of the Victorian colonization of Africa. The second act takes place in London in the 1970s, but is 25 years later for the characters.

Yeah, you read that right. It is surprisingly seamless, if you're wondering.

Usually casting is not something the playwright has much influence with, but this play required some female characters to be played by men and some males to be played by women actresses. This is a creative decision that gave a strong illustration to how women, men, and sexuality is viewed in society.

Usually I like  to focus on performances, but this play was very striking to me.