A Photograph / Lovers in Motion

The Negro Ensemble Inc. revives A Photograph / Lovers in Motion, a lyrical play by Ntozake Shange, author of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf” (1975). Audiences are transported to an artist’s flat in San Francisco during the waning years of the Black Arts Movement. A photographer named Sean David fights for his creative chops while navigating his relationships with a female dancer, a female model, a female lawyer, and a male lawyer. They struggle to communicate, to create their world and to love. Although this play is not a chorepoem like For Colored Girls…, Shange’s transcendent language soars throughout, underscored by music and movement. Shange’s sister and frequent collaborator, Ifa Bayeza, directs.