A Rat's Mass

A Rat's Mass is a poetic, magical-realist^[1] one act written by Adrienne Kennedy, an African-American playwright whose work was made in the 20th century.^[2] It focuses on the negative aspects of the black experience in America by showing two African-American children longing for a white child.^[3] The play was, like many of Kennedy's other works, at odds with the Black Arts movement in America, focusing on dislocation and femaleness rather than the ideology of blackness.^[4]

Characters

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Plot Summary

A Rat's Mass doesn't follow any standard chronological plot, like most Adrienne Kennedy plays. It follows Kay and Blake, a black brother and sister who commit a sexual act on the playground when Blake is forced to by Rosemary, a white child whom he loves. The play takes place in Brother and Sister Rat's house, which they refer to as a cathedral. Sister Rat explains she was sent to Georgia by her mother when she became pregnant with her brother's baby, and the play is Brother and Sister Rat's commiseration on their circumstances. They discuss how Rosemary is beautiful, how their house was once a religious place but now it runs red with blood, and Rosemary explains to them that they are not holy anymore. There is no real story, the plot must be ascertained from the non-chronological and absurdist dialogue between the characters. "The action is nothing but Brother and Sister Rat equating their love for each other with their former adoration for Rosemary - the white and beautiful 'descendant of the Pope and Julius Caesar and the Virgin Mary.'"^[6]

Allegory

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Historical Reasoning

The play was written in 1967, a turbulent time for African-Americans. Kennedy stated that the characters themselves were taken from an incredibly vivid dream she had.^[8] Kennedy was inspired by the Black experience in America, and A Rat's Mass (along with most of her other plays) has to do with the dichotomy of blacks and whites in America.^[9] The struggle for power and identity is the main focus of this play, because it was one of the main focuses of the African American people at that time in our country.^[10] "Her writing is in many ways an expression of her psychological frustrations. These frustrations often deal with cultural conflicts stemming from her experiences as a black woman and her international travels to Europe and Africa. She is also known for extensive use of symbols and metaphors to convey a deeper message to her audience. She draws on her own experiences as well as those of her friends and families to create rich characters and vivid story lines." ^[11]

Alternate Version

On August 17, 1969 A Rat's Mass/Procession in Shout was performed by La Mama E.T.C.^[12] This version featured music by Lamar Alford. La Mama took the show to London's Royal Court Theatre, where it was met with lots of positive response. In 1976, La Mama's Annex performed the show again, this time with music by Cecil Taylor, American Jazz Pianist. It was said that the "Plangency of the music echoes the doom-filled sentences of the text" ^[13]

References