A Spot on the Wall traverses some dark territory. The prison drama at the New York International Fringe Festival centers on two convicts who have committed unforgivable crimes, but their backstories also involve child abuse, pedophilia, poverty and an assortment of violent incidents. At the performance’s conclusion, sighs of catharsis – but also relief – can be heard as audience members vacate the space.
But maybe the strangest aspect of this play is that it is more interested in forgiveness than in shock. There are moments when the content is difficult to digest, especially in such a small venue where it can feel as if the audience is trapped in the same cage as the characters. But ultimately, playwright Temar Underwood attempts to make the existential struggle of two death row inmates one that is redeemable through religion.
This religiousness is not quite off-putting, but it is definitely challenging, given the nature of the crimes that are eventually divulged. But these admissions arrive so late in the show that we are allowed to discover Aiden (Brett Davenport) and Ezra (Kwame Opoku-Duku) as people – victims, even – before we have to face their monstrous actions.
Racial tension is built into the conflict between these two prisoners as well. Ezra is a black man whose education and insight hide behind a façade of raw aggression, and Aiden is a white man with a swastika burned into his chest who seems more interested in easy provocation than white supremacy. Interestingly, Underwood wrote the play fifteen years ago, but wanted it produced now because of the very public debate on race in America in the moment; the fact that the issues this play confronts are still so pertinent speaks to the lack of advancement in race relations in this country.
Ultimately, this play is about less tangible ideas than race or crime. It deals with forgiveness in an all-encompassing way. Like confession is to Catholicism, embracing faith in the constructed prison of this play allows its monstrous characters redemption. Because while it may be a disagreeable premise, A Spot on the Wall posits that even the most horrible monsters can repent and become human again.
