Alicia Plummer and Daren Herbert in ‘Sweeter’, Photo by Foreshots Photography
“Can’t nobody expect you to grow if you’re just surviving.”
This insightful observation is made by a talking sun (she also sings and dances) to a mango tree (also anthropomorphically inclined). This magic realism is an integral aspect of the story, which goes to some dark places and is set during a tumultuous time. Reconstruction era Florida is the backdrop of Alicia Richardson’s Sweeter, presented by Cahoots Theatre (in association with Roseneath Theatre). And it is one of the most emotionally intense pieces of children’s theatre I’ve yet seen.
The Mango Tree (Emerjade Simms) is in rough shape at the top of the story. She hasn’t been watered or placed in the sun, no loving hands have been at her soil. But then Ralph (Daren Herbert) and his spunky daughter Sweet Pea (Alicia Plummer) show up on Zucker’s farm. They are in touch with the earth and, with the help of the sun, Dee (Uche Ama), the Mango Tree thrives and her transcendently sweet fruit becomes the farm’s primary cash crop.
Trouble is brewing though and we recognize it from the moment Zucker (Sébastien Heins) lays eyes on his new field hands. He and Ralph are both freed men, but Zucker has social advantages—he owns property and is significantly lighter skinned, circumstances that ignite his opportunistic tendencies. In his fancy clothes, Heins puffs out his chest and brandishes a salesman’s eager smile, but his body language betrays a guarded and predatory stiffness. It isn’t long before he’s blatantly exploiting Ralph and Sweet Pea.
As the Mango Tree’s bounty satisfies Zucker’s greed, her winning personality inspires Sweet Pea to nurture and protect her. This is a resonant portrait of love as patience and purposeful attention. Richardson’s script handles several juicy themes with lyricism, complexity and a deft lightness of touch. Even the villain of the piece is given relatable humanity. Woven throughout are examinations of grief, community, and even the pernicious tendrils of shadeism.
The most striking of A.W. Nadine Grant’s costumes is the sun’s yellow dress and parasol. Ama imbues Dee with charm and hauteur. In a running gag, her morning appearances become increasing lazy and despondent, but she perks right back up with she’s really needed.
Director Tanisha Taitt’s production is colourful and vibrant, blending naturalistic textures and performances with stylized flourishes and flights of fancy. Sim Suzer’s set suggests the edge of a large open property and features low clapboard fencing and a rustic porch. A fabric backdrop gives lighting designer Shawn Henry a vast canvas for the changing colours of the sky. A wooden ladder allows for some innovative physicality as Simms’ Mango Tree grows and blossoms.
There is a pantomime flavour to most of the performances, a heightened and playful awareness of the audience throughout. Herbert’s Ralph is the most subdued; he grounds the emotions of story, elevates the broader characterizations around him and, most astonishingly, never feels like an outlier. The understated power of his performance blindsided me, even before his most intense scenes. His loving, cheeky and resilient dynamic with Plummer is the play’s spine.
It was also great to see the always compelling Amaka Umeh pop up in a bit part.
Bursting with poetry and wit, Sweeter is an exceptional piece of children’s theatre. For the most part, it’s whimsical and upbeat, but also very determined to wade through tough waters in a way that is accessible without diluting harsh truths. There are some genuine terrors and devastations here. Zucker’s violence towards the Mango Tree, though brief, is particularly disquieting. A bittersweet finale, however, allows us back into the light with some well earned catharsis.