Harlem Duet

Harlem Duet is a 1997 dramatic play by Canadian playwright Djanet Sears. Billie, a young graduate student in Harlem, deals with her husband Othello leaving her for a white woman named Mona.^[1] The play moves through time to show Billie and Othello's relationship (or an analogue thereof) being torn apart by racial tensions in Harlem in 1860, 1928, and the present. Though the characters draw inspiration from Shakespeare's play Othello, Billie and the story are original creations.

Sears received the Governor General's Award^[2] for Best New Play and the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award^[3] for Harlem Duet.

Plot summary

Act 1

Harlem, 1928. Billie and Othello discuss his infidelity with an unnamed white woman.

Harlem, Present. Billie lives in a walkup at the intersection of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Boulevard in Harlem, NY. She is emotionally and intellectually broken, as her husband Othello has left her for a white colleague named Mona. Billie is supported by her landlady and by Amah, Othello's sister, while she writes and lives as a shut-in.

Harlem, 1860. Othello, here a slave and blacksmith, woos Billie by gifting her his mother's handkerchief.

Harlem, Present. Billie is experimenting with chemical tonics and warns Amah that they are deadly if ingested. She ignores the ringing phone, believing it to be Othello - Amah suggests it may be Billie's estranged father, Canada. Othello finally arrives with Mona (who is never seen on stage) to retrieve his things. He and Billie begin to divide their books and dive into a conversation on race relations and how cultural pressures impacted their marriage. Eventually, Othello kisses Billie and they make love. Afterwards, he brushes her off and lies to Mona in front of her.

Harlem, 1860. Othello tells Billie that he will not flee to Canada with her because he has fallen in love with his white mistress, 'Miss Dessy'.

Harlem, Present. Billie prepares to move out of the apartment she shared with Othello. He returns with her pot, and with news: he is reneging on his promise to pay for one of her graduate school courses, and he and Mona are engaged. He attempts to defend himself by saying that being with white women is easier.

Harlem, 1928. Othello is dead on the floor, holding his handkerchief. Billie stands over him with a bloody straight razor.

Harlem, Present. Billie concocts a potion and pours it over Othello's handkerchief, but before she can enact her plan, Magi interrupts with news of a visitor. It is Billie's long-absent father, Canada.

Act 2

Harlem, Present. Billie takes tea with Canada, who is eager to reunite with her. He presents her with her mother's ring and tries to make plans to visit again, but she is uncertain. The next day, Othello is back and Billie tells him she wants to return his handkerchief (given to earlier Billie in 1860), but that she needs a few days to 'find' it.

Harlem, 1860. Othello is hung. Billie tells a story of a black man who wished to be white to his body.

Harlem, Present. Billie prepares the poisoned handkerchief and places it in a red box for Othello. In the process, she stains her hands with the solution and panics. She becomes violently ill (or possibly high), and Canada and Magi have an awkward conversation as they wait for her to recover. She finally emerges, and reconciles with Canada as he holds her and apologizes for being absent for so long.

Harlem, 1928. Othello and Billie sit in a dressing room as Billie shaves him. He claims he will never wear Blackface on stage, and says he is of Ira Aldridge stock, a great Black actor. Then he reveals that his White lover Mona is giving him the opportunity to play Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Billie cuts his throat with the razor.

Harlem, Present. Billie confesses to Magi that she plans to give Othello the poisoned handkerchief, but Magi argues that if African magic worked, the masters of slaves in the 1800s would have died a thousand times over. Billie is sick with anger and half-starved. She fantasizes (or remembers) seeing the apartment for the first time with Othello. They jump over a broom together, a traditional ceremony of marriage, and the memory dissipates. Magi takes Billie into the kitchen to feed her.

Later, Canada is cleaning the kitchen and encounters Othello, looking for the promised handkerchief. Othello sees the red box Billie prepared before her breakdown and takes it, telling Canada to say goodbye to Billie as she is absent.

Harlem, 1928. Othello is alone in a dressing room. He practices Othello's speech to Desdemona's father while applying black greasepaint - by the end of the speech he is in full Blackface.

Harlem, Present. Billie sings - she is in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. Amah visits her, but is unable to explain Billie's condition to the white doctors. Canada enters and promises that he will not leave Billie alone again. They begin to sing Spanish Harlem together as the lights go down.

Themes And References

Race and History

The play's main theme is the impact of race on social interactions. Sears' aim is to give a more significant place to black characters on the Canadian stage.

A possible interpretation of the play is that Othello has internalized racism and yearns for the white acceptance. Elizabeth Gruber highlights the role of Mona as an access point to the white world and culture.^[4]

This play also reasserts the existence of an African culture remaining among slaves descendants with the choice of its location, Harlem. The stage directions often reference strong symbols of African-American culture and history while ancient African customs permeate the play through Billie's interest in Voodoo.

Harlem, as a significant and symbolic location, is portrayed historically, politically and musically through the recurrence of African-American jazz music cues and audio recordings throughout the piece, including pieces from:

• Martin Luther King Jr.
• March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• Malcolm X
• United States Declaration of Independence
• Marcus Garvey
• Paul Robeson
• Louis Farrakhan
• Jesse Jackson
• O. J. Simpson murder case
• Aretha Franklin
• Michael Jackson
• Million Man March
• Langston Hughes

The play also engages in the recent concern for the construction of a Canadian-ness, embodied by Billie's father, Canada. According to Louise Harrington, the play relates to the movement of emancipation from English literature by adapting Shakespeare in a more political and contemporary way.^[5]

Literary Sources

Harlem Duet is a variation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello. The plot revolves around the interracial marriage; the characters are named after Shakespeare’s characters: Othello and Desdemona (Mona in the present days and Miss Dessy in 1860).

Productions

Harlem Duet was first produced by Nightwood Theatre in 1997 at Toronto's Annex Theatre.^[6][7][8]

Sears directed a production of the play in 2002 at Blue Heron Arts Centre in New York City.^[9]

The 2006 production at the Stratford Festival was the festival's first work by an African-Canadian playwright, and also the first to be directed by a black woman.^[10]

References

• Haven, Cynthia (14 May 2008). "Award-winning play Harlem Duet tells story of modern Othello". Stanford University. Retrieved 5 May 2017. 
• Friedlander, Mira (11 May 1997). "Review: ‘Harlem Duet’". Variety. Retrieved 5 May 2017. 

Further reading

• Djanet Sears in the Canadian Encyclopedia