Theater Review

Black & Blue, the first full-length play by writer/producer Kevin Demoan Edwards, takes on the charged dynamics of the Black Lives Matter movement and its rejoinder, the Blue Lives Matter movement. Through the portrayal of two couples on respective sides of the matter (supported by a shifting-identitied ensemble), Edwards goes beyond giving voice and face to the movements’ tangential perspectives and sits us front-row to a series of their combustive interactions. In a quickly-flowing sequence of plot advances, we witness the characters struggling with the feelings informed by their reality, while steadily conflicted as each conversation initiates a layer of compassion for their supposed opposition.