Eisa Davis’ fanciful ‘Bulrusher’ at Berkeley Rep transports viewers to a mystical land in Northern California, but the story doesn’t always measure up to the setting.
A baby floating down the Navarro River in a basket gets tangled amid the tall weeds in Eisa Davis’ play. That’s why the locals, who speak the idiosyncratic patois of the Anderson Valley, Boontling, call her a “Bulrusher.”
Jordan Tyson imbues the title character with a feral kind of fragility. She’s a strange and sweet mixture of clairvoyant and innocent, living in ‘50s America but feeling rather timeless. The play’s ornate language doesn’t spark with life in a largely static first act, despite Katherine Freer’s ethereal projections of water and sky and Lawrence E. Moten III’s woodsy scenic design.
The play’s deeper social and political context, the way the characters respond to race and gender injustice of the time period, also feels skimmed instead of fully explored. The ensemble needs to dig deeper into the way the characters fit into this tight-knit village.
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