'Negative' Flips Racial Politics

The Black Community and Student Theater Group’s production of “Negative” will make you laugh. And then it will make you think about why you laughed. And as the play goes on, you’ll keep laughing, but odds are you probably won’t feel good about it.

The play, adapted and directed by S. Jumai Yusuf ’16, is based on a 2004 play of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. In an alternate universe in which white people have been historically oppressed and fettered by black people, a wealthy black woman, Veronica (Caroline B. Hubbard ’17), antagonizes her college roommate, a poor white girl from the rural Midwest named Mary (Julie S. Monrad ’15). It’s not something that sounds particularly humorous.

“When I first looked at the play, I was like ‘Why is this a comedy? It’s so serious,’” Yusuf says. “But there are really funny moments in it. And the second act is still funny, but I feel like people will be just a little more uncomfortable.”

That second act is Yusuf’s brainchild. Essentially a repetition of the first act, the latter half of the production has one crucial difference: the roles are switched. Mary is now the rich and privileged one, and Veronica is poor and oppressed. The changes are minor and the comedy untouched—but here the humor has an edge to it.

“You’re supposed to notice the difference, and it’s supposed to be kind of funny and uncomfortable in the beginning but definitely more uncomfortable in the second act,” Monrad says. “ There are moments where you’re like, That’s real.’”

There are subtle variations between the two acts—different insults, different preconceptions, different biases. “There are little nuggets that are different, which—I hope, at least—keep you watching, keep you interested,” Yusuf says.

“Negative” is not a lighthearted, feel-good comedy. And it’s certainly not a straightforward, hyper-serious production. It’s an intricate, layered piece—a complex work to deliver a complex message. The task it has set itself is not easy, but perhaps that’s what makes that task worth attempting.                                         

“It’s an important topic to discuss,” Hubbard says. “And I think theater is a great way to do that because it lets people sit back and watch something visually and draw their own conclusions instead of have someone talk at them”

The play runs from Oct. 2 to 4 at the Adams Pool Theater.