"Cloud 9"

Walking into the theatre I didn’t know what to expect. The lights were dim giving off a purple and pink color. All that was on the stage were two chairs. The sound of African music was ringing through my ears. What kind of play would this be? I was feeling very optimistic about Cloud 9. I have had a passion for the theatre since I was involved in it my four years of high school. When the play began I was very pleased. Cloud 9 was a play about how individuals and society perceive topics like gender norms and sexuality. It shows how those norms have differed overtime. The play starts in Africa where Clive, his wife Betty, son Edward, daughter Victoria, and mother-in-law Maud sit out on the patio of their African home. They are an English family living in Africa. Also present is the governess Ellen and servant Joshua. In the family there are many dramatic issues. Clive is interested in a neighbor, Mrs. Saunders, while Betty (Clive’s wife) is interested in a family friend named Harry Bagley. Harry Bagley is portrayed to be molesting Edward, Clive and Betty’s son. The family never finds out about this. Throughout the first act these issues play out. In this act all of the characters act out Clive’s definition of them: an ideal wife, a servant, a son, etc. In the Victorian culture in Britain the father was the ruler and decision-maker, while the woman gave everything she had to her powerful husband. In Act II we fast forward about 100 years where some of our characters are portrayed a bit older. In this act, which takes place in Britain, the social norms are more described and people who are gay and lesbian become more open about it. Homosexuals were discriminated against with things such as “queer bashing” and gay stereotypes. In both acts we are able to see attitudes towards gender and gender roles and how they become better or worse over time. This play was a wonderful depiction of social situations and leaves an open door for viewers and spectators to think about how we perceive social issues today. Something interesting about this play was that most of the women were played by men and vice versa with men being played by women. It added an extra detail to the different ways we perceive men and women in society. All of the costumes made the different time periods believable: the men having curled mustaches, the women having long skirts and babushkas to cover their hair. The setting of the play was only a few chairs and a small table, accompanied by different colors on the back drop. I think the play was written this way so that we would focus more on the actors and their message then what the setting was trying to tell us. The actors and actresses’ were phenomenal. It takes an enormous amount of courage to perform in front of so many people, especially in a play that was very vulgar and sexual.

-NICOLE PACENTE