Victoria Loyd and Christina Cranshaw in ‘Bondage’ at the Undermain Theatre. (Photos by Joan Osato) Seriously, it has taken me a long time to process Bondage now playing at Undermain Theatre.
Star Finch’s play was a mix of drama, gothic storytelling and horror all in the backdrop of slavery and class systems. The play was a riveting start to Undermain’s 40th season but also a glorious mindfuck that may leave you silent well after the cast bows.
Bondage centered on two young women Zuri and Emily (Victoria Lloyd and Christina Cranshaw) who are on the cusp of womanhood, but as they mature, their roles as slave and owner begin to replace their young friendship.
They live on a plantation in an unnamed Caribbean island where Emily’s widowed father Philip (Jim Jorgensen) milled about rather than served as head of the household.