It’s no secret what kind of heinous troubles have been stirred by the inter-racial rivalry existing between white and black skin throughout history. But who ever thunk that shade tension could cause equal unrest between people of the same culture?

Certainly not insolated WASPy types who have traditionally resided on the ‘other side of the tracks’ and clueless about this blend of civil contention. Yet playwright Dael Orlandersmith’s off-Broadway hit, Yellowman, boldly illustrates the ongoing struggle that skin tone can play no matter where two people find themselves.

Powered by two central characters—Alma and Eugene—from childhood to adulthood, Yellowman is the kind of story that paints a bleak portrait of impoverished existence in South Carolina where alcohol, bigotry, and the fight for love are inexplicably dominant forces.

Award winning director Weyni Mengesha can detect award winning material a mile away so it comes as no surprise she’d be drawn towards a writing style that seizes lyrical grandeur in a moving and sometimes facetious dramatization of star crossed infatuates.

Toronto’s premier online theatre magazine found it futile to resist an opportunity to chat up theatre’s insightful beauty queen and peel away the play’s discerning stratums.