How does one compress a 500-page novel into a 90-minute stage performance? This was the challenge the folks at Lifeline Theater in Rogers Park decided to tackle.
How does one compress a 500-page novel into a 90-minute stage performance? This was the challenge the folks at Lifeline Theater in Rogers Park decided to tackle.

Richard Wright's 1940 novel "Native Son" remains a classic of American literature. It tackles the issues of institutionalized racism and violence in the Black community through the eyes of the 20-year-old Bigger, an African American living in the projects of Chicago's south side in the 1930s.

Bigger takes a job as a driver for the Daltons - a wealthy white family. During one drive, the family's radical daughter Mary drinks and flirts with Bigger and introduces him to her Communist friends. The evening ends tragically when Bigger accidentally kills Mary. The incident destroys the lives of everyone involved.

The Lifeline production retained the novel's basic plot but moved quickly from place to place and from time to time, showing flashbacks of Bigger's troubled past. Writer Nambi E. Kelley and Director Ilesa Duncan did an excellent job maintaining the spirit of Wright's novel and characters.

While the Bigger of this play is not quite the sociopath of the book, his instincts for self-preservation push him to make catastrophic selfish decisions, often at the cost of those around him. Bigger struggles to control his anger, which leads to his downfall. Kelley emphasized Bigger's struggles to suppress his violent nature and survive in white society by having two actors play the role. Tamarus Harvell played the Bigger seen by the world, frequently arguing with his invisible dark side, James Lewis, who constantly followed him, influencing his behavior. The device worked, eliminating any need for an inner monologue or narrator.

The supporting cast provides much to consider. The self-congratulating white liberals and the Black women in Bigger's life, who unfairly face the consequences of their men, add complexity to the story.

This adaptation felt frantic and brutal but never rushed.