On and Off Broadway

Nat Turner in Jerusalem

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Although myths abound about Nat Turner, some facts remain consistent. Turner, a runaway slave, led a slave rebellion in 1831 that resulted in the murder of several white people. In Nat Turner in Jerusalem by Nathan Alan Davis at the New York Theatre Workshop, he claims that God compelled him to do what he did. Turner, expertly played by Phillip James Brannon, shows no remorse.
The entire 90 minutes of the play occurs on the day before Turner’s hanging in 1831 in Jerusalem, Virginia, yet he is calm, evincing no fear. During the drama, Turner only interacts with two people. One is Thomas R. Gray, who wants the prisoner’s last words and confessions, and the other is the Guard, both of whom are portrayed by Rowan Vickers.
In dire financial straits, Gray needs to sell this confession for the money. Yet Turner refuses to speak with him unless he swears that he believes what Turner tells him, namely that he was doing God’s work. Gray wants to know if Turner’s rebellion is a part of a larger scheme and warns that the only thing that will happen will be more repressive laws against the slaves (which is what did happen.)
Although inexplicably the Guard seems to have bonded with Turner, it’s hard for Gray and the audience to feel for the slave. When Gray asked how he could feel no sadness at killing infants, Turner reminds him of the White man’s treatment of Indian and the Black children. According to the play, Turner targeted all his owners and their families to kill them. Yet other information about him suggests that Turner claims that he only killed one person.
The play is didactic, repetitive and preachy and although Brannon works hard, it’s impossible to care about Turner. The religious overtones lack subtly. Brannon’s role is made more difficult because he is locked in chains for most of the performance. When Vickers isn’t onstage, Brannon delivers overly long monologues, at times addressing the chains the bind him.
Turner’s revolt was a fascinating, albeit bloody, note in U.S. history. Perhaps as the character notes “This was not war. This was a warning.” Ironically with subtle undertones, inadvertently the play is evocative of today’s “Black Lives
We will never know but Turner’s warning is.