29th Play - Land O'Fire by Luis Santeiro

How in the world did I pick this play? Confession: It was a Saturday. I taught class in the morning, came home, had lunch and took a nap and then a bath. This is Saturday tradition in our house and I just did NOT want to open the computer. So, I found this book on our play shelf. How in the world did it get there? Not the faintest idea. I probably picked it up on my travels - shout out to Edward McKay’s used bookstore in Greensboro, NC where I grew up - I usually pick up a handful of inexpensive used plays when I return to visit. That is my best guess … ?

Summary: "Based on the story of two voyages of the HMS The Beagle to Tierra del Fuego in the 1830’s, Luis Santeiro’s Land O’Fire is the story of South American Indians plucked from their home and transported to Victorian England to be ‘christianized.’ The growing attachment of one of the Indians, Jemmy Button, to his surrogate father, Captain Fitzroy, leads to inevitable heartbreak when Fitzroy returns the Indians to their home. Told from the point of view of the Indians, Land O’Fire is a remarkably timely work, hilarious at times yet always keenly insightful in its examination of life interfered with and forever damaged by association with a ‘superior’ culture." (Press notes from Wings Theatre, the NYC debut of this show in 2007)

Loved: I loved the idea that the Fuegian Indians (this, or “Natives,” is how they’re referred to in the play) were putting on this play of their experiences with British colonizers. That concept is very appealing in a time when we are all questioning the rights that European folk had to colonize and "christianize" a great part of the world (better late than never?). Narratives have told us for years that we "civilized" the native peoples, and that we were actually doing them a great service. Although, frequently "civilizing" led to us just stealing their lands. So, the idea of this play potentially pointing out these problematic narratives appealed to me. I didn't always enjoy the scenes in which two of the Indians, "York" and "Fuegia" as named by the British, were much more interested in just being themselves (sometimes sexually in a way that shocked the would-be christianizers) and not learning the customs of these people, even though "Jemmy" works harder to do so. However, I appreciated that the scenes were showing us that teaching our "civilized" ways was frequently not a good thing for these people who didn't want them or need them.

What I didn’t Love: Sigh - there were a number of things that bothered me about this play. First of all, while I love the idea of having the Fuegian Indians playing all the characters, this basically means you need a whole cast of Indigenous South Americans. Which would be a great opportunity for those actors, but not an easy casting job. Looking at the names of the cast of the original NYC production, it seems like most of them might have been Latinx at least, but we weren't as concerned about ethnically appropriate casting at the time. In order for the story to be received by the audience as being from the Indians' point of view, I think it should be cast 100% with them. So, hard to do. There is an argument that non-native Latinx folk could portray them, and I suspect that was what Cuban-American playwright Santeiro had in mind, but I don’t feel good about that right now. That all being said, on just a read of the play, I didn't always feel like it was from the Fuegians’ point of view. There were a number of things that happened that felt more like white people poking fun at less "civilized" natives, like York constantly wanting to touch Fuegia in a sexual way. I know that was part of the purpose, the pointing out of white people making fun of "uncivilized" natives, but it just felt super uncomfortable to me as the Indian perspective touted in the plot summary just wasn't always clear. This could be solved by watching a production, vs. reading, but as I noted, there are some challenges there as well. To me, that was the biggest issue. It was hard to watch the three young indigenous people being indoctrinated (with varying degrees of success) and I know that is part of the point. But maybe it needs to be more absurd and less realistic in these portrayals to make me not feel like the play itself is still exploiting the natives of this land. It's tricky, and the fact that I can't find much about it on the internet shows that I'm not the only one who thought so ... Additionally, I didn't really care much for any of the characters, with the exception of Jemmy Button, and since he's the Fuegian who tries the hardest to assimiliate to British ways, this sits uncomfortably inside me. *** SPOILER (although it was revealed in the summary) *** Also, it's very hurtful in the end when Jemmy is returned to his homeland, and is denied when he asks to stay with the white people. They don't really want him. I get and fully appreciate the point the play makes here, but it's hard to live with Jemmy's hurt in this moment.

Overall: I didn't really care for the characters and had trouble buying into the fact that this story of "civilization" was told from the perspective of the Fuegian Indians. It was super uncomfortable to read, and I'm sure that is part of the point. But I don't think the point is as clear as it potentially set out to be. If I had to direct this (although it is NOT my story to tell), I would definitely lean into the absurdity of many of the situations to make that more clear. Although the casting this play is a really challenging question as well. Ultimately this play made me cringe a lot while reading it. As a privileged child of colonizing nations, there is some good to that - I should have to look at the history of my ancestors and cringe at it. But, there are just too many moments where the play seems to be poking more fun at the natives than the white people, and I just couldn't stomach that.

Here’s a link to Google Sheets with more info about the play: Play a Day Sheet

Want to read an interesting article about Darwin’s visit to Tierra del Fuego and some of the inherent racism within his writings (with drawings of the indigenous people featured in the play)? https://www.whatisemerging.com/opinions/savages-and-cannibals