In 1965 at the St. Marks Playhouse, a play directed and written by Douglas Turner Ward was staged. The play was titled Day of Absence. The staging of this play very well with the heightened plight of the black community. The black population was being undermined and they were a target of racial abuse. The play by Ward served the purpose of highlighting the importance of the black people in the society. What if one day all black people in the society disappeared? What are the changes would the society face if the black population was no more? These are the questions Ward sought to answer in his play. The play was meant to educate the society as well as entertain them. The play involves a high sense of humor which was aimed to lessen the sensitivity of the issue being addressed.
The play is set in an American Deep South town. The setting of the town is small which enables people to be more intimate. On this particular day, two of the town’s country crackers, Clem and Luke, noticed that something was wrong in the town. They noticed that they all black people in the town were missing. The impact was so high that they realized some of the duties in the town were abandoned. The black population was the backbone of all physical activities in the town. They included the casual laborers, street cleaners, house maid and workers at the mayor’s office. At the mayor’s office the situation was worse as all duties in the office were at a standstill. Many people in the office raised the issue that all the employees were missing and they were nowhere to be seen.
The mayor immediately ordered for the search of any black person in the town. This showed how much significance the population had in this town. In just few hours the town was paralyzed and every person was in need of the black people. The only black people found were in Hospital. However, they were in a comma and they could neither speak nor move. The mayor said he only required one black person so that they could redeem the town. However, his wishes were not granted as he did not have the chance to speak to a single black soul. The whole town was worried and disturbed that all the black people abandoned them. The pressure was then turned to the town mayor who many people believed he was the cause of all their problems.
In a final plea to the black population, the mayor made a personal request on television. He pleaded and begged in the most humble way that the black population return to the town. He then turned to threats to the black absentees. This move also failed to work as the community decided to turn their wrath on the mayor. The mayor is confronted by an angry white population and he races across the whole community.
The material and style used in the play was meant for a typical African theater. The material in this play was aimed to proclaim the power of the black people. Just like in any African theater, the power of the black population is put at its highest rank. The society is portrayed dependable on the contribution of the black population. The African theater aims at building the confidence of the black population. It seeks to empower the black population with illusions created in plays. However, these illusions are true and very practical as many black people borrow heavily from these illusions. In the play by Ward, the illusions are not different. The black population is given the assumption that the society and the people in it could survive a day without their existence. The play further shows how the society leaders and administration requires the services of the black population. African theaters also display the strength of the colored community. The theaters display the black man as the backbone of all the physical activity in society. This assumption is also replicated in the play by ward.
In an African theater, the themes in all pieces are focused on the superiority of the black population. Additionally, the African theater ensures that the plight of the African community is felt across all races. They tend to incorporate their tribulations to affect the rest of the society. In the Day of Absence, the white population is subjected to tribulations as the black population went missing for a single day. This is aimed at proving that racism towards the black does not only affect the colored population but also the rest of the society. Over the years, the importance of the African theater has been crucial in ensuring that the black population is treated in the same sensitivity as any other community in the society. And this function of the African theater remains continuous with the production of plays such as Day of Absence by Douglas Ward.
