CONTINUUM: VISIONS FROM YETUNDE
According to the program, all traditional African cultures believe that the spirit lives on after death, and the Yoruba nation believes that if an individual has a strong presence while living, after death that soul will be remembered and live on for many generations as a clan spirit, eventually returning as a newborn baby: Yetunde means “mother returns.” But in Continuum this beautiful concept is ruined because Yetunde is an irritatingly all-knowing teacher who visits four confused young souls in their dreams and bombards them with wisdom from the ages.
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The actors who play the young souls perform earnestly, with a conviction of the play’s importance. But under Carroll’s direction they rarely go deeper than the surface. Ireland stands out as the best for her monologues, but all four spend too much time looking around and up at the ceiling to suggest wonder at Yetunde’s presence. As Jakuta, Carroll continually looks around, rarely fixing his eyes anywhere on the stage or in the audience. His performance as the anguished cynic lacks confidence and force. When he yells it’s from the throat, not the lungs; when he’s angry he scrunches up his nose like an irritated child, not a man who’s seen unspeakable cruelty to his race.
