Sojourners

Reviewed By Sheyenne Brown

I am hesitant. I have sat down to write my review of Mfoniso Udofia's beautiful play "Sojourners" at least eight times and each time I stopped myself because I did not want to do it a disservice. Indeed it has been a month since I had the privilege of seeing the play during one of its first previews. I kept returning to this idea of the audience being sojourners as much as the protagonist, and I stand by that.

Image sourced by The Playwrights Realm

I sat down not knowing what to expect, other than that Abasiama (Chinasa Ogbuagu) was losing her too-smooth Nigerian husband Ukpong (Hubert Point-Du Jour) to American culture and that she was faced with a choice. But it was so much more than that. I traveled, with the story, with the characters, with the set, with trepidation, as this pregnant woman was repeatedly being disappointed by her partner who was not keeping his promises made to her in times of security. Selfishly, I inserted myself into that experience and silently “amen-ed” her concerns and her quietness with flickers of wavering bravery. I laughed at moments when the characters were just soooo "themselves," I hummed to the jams reflecting the times and tried to not sing aloud. I sat on the edge of my seat anticipating the rotation of the set because I knew with each turn, I was not only going to be transported to a new physical space, but that I was also about to experience something that I either wasn’t expecting, or that would cause me to confront myself as a black American millennial with a certain amount of privilege bestowed upon me. Beyond that, with each shift of scene, I felt like a dropper of eaves because I was privy to the varying degrees of loneliness each character felt: Moxie (Lakisha Michelle May) who was making it the best way she knew how until Abasiama befriended her in the most unlikely of circumstances; Disciple (Chinaza Uche) who was left with his brilliance, his vision, and the memory of a long gone sister who he thinks he has found some semblance of in Abasiama; Even Ukpong whose loneliness revealed itself in his detachment from his culture. I can't say with certainty that anyone ever truly gets what they need to feel whole, and I am not often comfortable when there isn't a happy ending, but Udofia gave me just enough to keep my hope alive and keep me hanging on.

Ultimately, "Sojourners" is a play about duty. About living up to it, about falling short and trying to find your way back to fulfill it. Even with its strong Nigerian influence and detail, it is still very much an American story. Perhaps that is a part of the point, because when I think about it, the play takes place in 1976, which means that the baby Abasiama has will grow up during a transitional period for the identities of people of color in America. Who's to say that she will not face similar struggles as an American African? See, this is what I think is the mark of great storytelling: when you can't help wondering about the future of the characters.

Sojourners by Mfoniso Udofia. Directed by Ed Sylvanus Iskandar. Set Design: Jason Sherwood.
Lighting Design: Jiyoun Chang. Costume Design: Loren Shaw. Sound Design: Jeremy S. Bloom. Puppet Design/Direction: Stefano Brancato.

Sheyenne Javonne Brown is an actress and playwright in NYC. She received her MFA in acting from Columbia University School of the Arts in 2014. You can read Sheyenne's blog here and she's also a she is a member of the Black Revolutionary Theatre Workshop.