A play tackling the HIV-AIDS epidemic could leave an audience feeling hopeless, but the enthralling performances of Sharisa Whatley and Marylynn Melissa Gwatiringa in In the Continuum humanize the crisis and even bring comic relief to the issue.
Whatley and Gwatiringa portray two women, thousands of miles apart, who have to cope with an all-too-common condition.
Abigail, a TV news reader in Zimbabwe, and Nia, an unemployed 19-year-old in Los Angeles, fill the sparse stage with their shared experience—getting HIV from their male partners.
First, there is the diagnosis that leaves the women, who are both pregnant, in disbelief and anger. Then, the actresses gracefully transition through portraying the co-workers, friends and family that surround the women as they reckon with their state.
Playwrights Nikkole Salter and Danai Gurira embrace each woman’s struggle to handle the situation and move forward.
Through the fear of a husband’s retaliation, a mother’s disdain and a culture’s judgment, they unveil the humor and sorrow of a harsh reality.
While each woman’s outlook is bleak, the play draws the audience in and allows them to witness the women’s fight to maintain their dignity and identity.
■ Christian Kloc can be reached at 727-7270 or at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
■ In The Continuum will be performed at 8 p.m. today and Saturday at The Thrust stage at UNC School of the Arts. For tickets, $37, go by the Benton Convention Center.