Theater Review: J Jha shines in Geetha Reddy’s retelling of Mahabharata at Ubuntu Theater in Oakland

The Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic written in Sanskrit, the longest piece of prose ever written, which would take 12 days to perform if spoken non-stop. Playwright Geetha Reddy took on the challenge of dismantling this story into an hour and a half solo performance. And J Jha, with direction from Ubuntu Theater company founder Michael Socrates Moran, took on the task of recreating this piece. Continue reading “Theater Review: J Jha shines in Geetha Reddy’s retelling of Mahabharata at Ubuntu Theater in Oakland”

Theater Review: Dance Of The Holy Ghosts at Oakland Peace Center, Ubuntu Theater Project, 3/23/18

Edited by Jessica Vaden

Dance of the Holy Ghosts returns to playwright’s native Oakland roots

Berwick Haynes (Oscar) with Viola’s famous sweet potato pie and Michael Curry (Marcus) with his precisely organized Crayolas™?. Photo courtesy of Simone Finney, 2018.

They say the brain only recalls the parts it wants to remember. And so it goes, memory is fragmented, and unreliable, as we come to learn in Ubuntu Theater Project’s production of Dance of the Holy Ghosts by Marcus Gardley.

Gardley is an Oakland native, and there’s something about seeing a play in the space that it’s intended for that really draws on the fragility that a memory play evokes. Walking through the doors of Oakland Peace Center, one immediately confronts a specific time and place which then colors the viewer’s experience. Bringing it all together, a complete choir of gospel singers open the show in this untraditional but very fitting setting. Continue reading “Theater Review: Dance Of The Holy Ghosts at Oakland Peace Center, Ubuntu Theater Project, 3/23/18″