Sunday, October 25, 2009

King of Shadows

I'm off work and using the time to go see some plays.
When I tell people I work in theater I think they imagine that I get to see a lot of plays and I guess that technically I get to see the plays from a different perspective. But I do get to see a fair amount of shows.
The play "King of Shadows" by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa at Pillsbury House Theater is a show that has been on my to see list since it opened at the beginning of (R)October. With only one more week left to see this show I decided to get myself down to the Pillsbury House and see it.
First of all I love this theater. It is in my neighborhood and it is small but they do really excellent work.
The play is directed by Randy Reyes and is about a homeless youth, Nihar, who is befriended by a social worker, Jessica.
Nihar, played by Qadir Kahn, is homeless and survives by selling sex. After Jessica,(Catherine Johnson Justice) interviews him for her book he asks if he can crash at her house for a couple of days. Jessica is the guardian for her teenage sister Sarah (Taj Ruler) and she is dating a cop, Eric (Josh Foldy).
Nihar predicts the weather and tells a story of the King of Shadows and the Green Lady who he believes stole him from his real parents and took him to live in their world. He is trying to escape The King of Shadows and the Green Lady.
Jessica wants to believe Nihar and to help him. Trust is a huge part of the play as Nihar has to trust Jessica enough to let her interview him and then he asks her if he can stay at her house and she has to trust him enough to let him stay.
It is suspenseful as you wonder what is reality and what is myth created for survival.
Overall I think this play is good and would highly recommend it to friends.

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