New play explores love through unique, years-long journey
Agreste (Drylands)Through Nov. 12Spooky Action Theater1810 16th St NW (the Universalist National Memorial Church)$37.50Spookyactiontheater.org From the sidelines, love can be misunderstood, attacked, celebrated, or simply accepted and left alone.
In “Agreste (Drylands),” a queer story penned by gay playwright Newton Moreno, one of the most powerful voices in the queer Brazilian theater, love is explored through a unique, years-long journey currently being recounted at Spooky Action Theater in Dupont.
It’s the tale of Maria and Etevaldo, star-crossed kindred spirits who fall in love from opposites sides of a fence. From a distance their feelings grow; when they can, they leave flowers and pieces of cloth on the fence, mementos of their love.
Eventually they boldly come together living happily as a romantic pair for 22 years in the arid northeast part of Brazil. Their bliss is interrupted by unexpected tragedy and further destroyed when locals unleash a torrent of hate and bigotry on what remains.
