[Some Spoilers]
Whenever I go to a musical or play (outside of chitlin circuit engagements), I can count on one hand how many other Black people are in the theater. This was true of Fat Ham, Champion, and it was also true of Foxes. I wonder if the problem is one of economics or marketing or subject matter. Or maybe it’s all of those things. In any event, I do wish more Black people had access so that they could see our stories being acted out, often so wonderfully, on the stage.
That being said: My husband and I had the great pleasure of seeing Foxes, a play that “follows Daniel, a young black man trying to keep up with his life in London’s Caribbean community while balancing his own goals with his family’s expectations. When his relationship with best friend Leon brings an unexpected change it creates turmoil, bringing a taboo into his family home that has the power to tear the closest and most loving relationships apart.” The play was conceived and written by Dexter Flanders and directed by James Hiller.
I don’t think it spoils too much to say that the taboo in question is homosexuality. It was interesting because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a play exploring how Black men in England navigate same-sex desire. I have seen some films tackle the subject—like Say My Name and Rag Tag. But this is the first time I’ve witnessed it rendered on stage. I was curious about how the notion of “the down low” would be handled from this lens.
Here in the United States, so-called down-low Black men are at once demonized and desired. They are blamed for the spread of HIV in ostensibly heterosexual populations, especially in regard to Black women. And they are often the romantic/sexual fantasy of Black queer men who covet their ability to act/appear/blend in/present as straight. It’s a bizarre, but unsurprising situation.
Daniel (Raphel Famotibe) and Leon (Bayo Gbadamosi) discover their desire for one another accidentally on purpose, in the midst of an argument that turns physical. What happens after turns both of their worlds upside down. This is particularly true for Daniel, who is in a relationship with a woman named Meera (Nemide May) and lives at home with his holy-roller mother Patricia (Suzette Llewellyn) and hardworking younger sister Deena (Tosin Alabi).
My husband and I, based on our own life experiences, wondered if we could follow the play’s conceit that a 23-year-old man might not know of his attractions to someone of the same sex until he’s kissed by another man and, in some Snow-White-fairytale kind of way, be awakened to his latent desires. Is that what happens? Do people really not have any clue about their homosexual feelings until some breathtaking event occurs? Do people really bury such emotions so deeply, at the prodding of society’s compulsory boundaries, that they can trick themselves into being unaware of their own blood’s beating?
Sexuality/sexual orientation is such an individual experience. So, I suppose it’s possible that in a world where homosexuality and perversion are dishonestly merged in the public consciousness, somebody could feasibly cut themselves off from their own humanity enough to not even consider the call of their own delights. And perhaps the only thing that could shatter the dissonance is an act of vulnerability.
This play has many conflicts: between Daniel and Meera, Daniel and Patricia, Daniel and Deena, and Daniel and Leon. But the most fascinating conflicts are those that Daniel and Leon have with themselves.
This is articulated brilliantly when Leon says to Daniel that he has only ever seen white gay men or “Black men who act like women” display public acts of affection, like the holding of hands. He interprets this to mean that his own peculiar and rigid masculinity (an articulation that is necessary for him to survive living in The Ends) leaves no room for him to live openly or proudly; and worse, prevents him from giving or receiving the tenderness and love his desperately wants without feeling weak, compromised, or exposed in some way.
These are the wages of the Man Box, the detrimental ways in which men and boys are socialized in a patriarchal society that prove harmful for everyone, including men and boys. It endeavors to turn men and boys into machines built primarily for use as laborers, sex toys, and soldiers. With humanity sufficiently shut down or shut off, violence—turned inward and/or outward—is the only conceivable result.
Daniel’s inner conflict is exacerbated by his mother’s religious fervor. The hypocrisy of Christian doctrine, as practiced by the most devout (who, when confronted, respond with violence and attempts suppress critique or dissent), is made plain here. We watch as Patricia’s fury and judgment cloud her interpretation of scripture such that it becomes loveless and cruel. She is oblivious to how this moves her farther and farther away from her hallowed Jesus Christ and makes her kin to Devil she shames.
The entire cast is superb. In particular, Llewellyn, Famotibe, and especially Gbadamosi give extraordinary performances that draw you into the play’s central anguish. The set is simple, but effective. And it was a nice touch on the part of the director to immerse the audience in darkness for the various transitions so that the arrangement of each new scene felt as though it was the result of magic.
The play ends on a note that rests somewhere between happy and tragic, indicting religion and society in regard to the ways both of those constructs attempt to destroy what they cannot control or comprehend, and, as a result, create the kind of people they claim not to want. This leaves the marginalized with no choice but to sacrifice truth and operate covertly as a strategy for living.
Foxes is an incredibly moving story. And this production is very, very good. I highly recommend it.
9/10
Foxes is currently playing at the 59E59 Theaters. The run ends on July 2. To purchase tickets, please click: HERE.
(P.S. 59E59 Theaters are great in that no matter where you sit, you have a terrific view of the stage.)