In the Red and Brown Water

In the Red and Brown Water is the story of a young woman named Oya who is a gifted runner that gives up a scholarship to stay home with her mother, Mama Moja.  Oya denies the scholarship because she needs to take care of her ill mother.  Mama Moja unfortunately passes away, leaving Oya all alone in the world to figure out all her problems.  This is the beginning of her downward spiral; losing her spot on the track team, taking a few lovers and physically and mentally draining herself.  Her main problem throughout the play is she is caught in the midst of a sexual and love filled relationship with two different men, Shango and Ogun.  She must decide between these two men who she wants to continue to see.

The most important event throughout the entirety of the play is when Oya denies the scholarship from the “man from state”.  She makes this decision with good intentions; to help her mother out, while still believing and working for her dream to run track in college.  Ultimately, she gets caught up in a love triangle after her mother’s death, which put a mental and physical toll on her.  When she finally makes a decision on her multiple relationships, she finds herself very unhappy with her decision to continue dating Ogun.  Oya ultimately fails in her attempt of running in college and achieving happiness with another man in life.  This play was definitely a tragedy about the life of a woman who took a few wrong turns in her decision making.

I personally feel that the most compelling performance is by Ogun.  Ogun starts out as a sort of ‘underdog’ with his stuttering problem.  He works hard to fix it and more importantly, gives all of himself to be with Oya.   Throughout the play you can see the progression of Ogun moving from a scared child to a confident, grown man.  It is always inspiring to see someone dedicate all of themselves to achieving something, while growing as a person at the same time.

My biggest critique of the play is that it was hard to follow at times.  For example, from other versions of the play and what was written in the packet about the play, it seemed like there was a bigger emphasis on Oya’s track career, while in this one, there was not much detail about it.  Also, the ending of the play was abrupt and confusing.  I thought it was a little too extreme that Oya would actually cut her ear off, no matter how crazy she is going. 

This was not my first time going to see a live play.  I have seen a few high school plays along with a few professional Broadway performances too.  I am not a musical, play or live performance fan by any means.  Most of the plays I went to was just to support friends who were in the play or because my parents forced me to go.  This play did not really keep my attention for too long and I kept finding myself confused throughout it.  I would not recommend others to see this play because of the confusing plot and odd plot.