OnyxFest is Indy’s first and only theater festival dedicated to the stories of Black playwrights. These one-act celebrations of Black life and culture are presented by IndyFringe and the Africana Repertory Theatre of IUPUI. After an initial weekend at the IndyFringe Theatre, upcoming performances are Friday through Sunday, Nov. 10-12, at historic Crispus Attucks High School, in the Auditorium at 1140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, Indianapolis. For information and tickets, visit OnyxFest.com.

By John Lyle Belden

As one might guess, the name of the title character of “Tigone,” by Levi Frazier Jr., is a reference to the mythical princess in Sophocles’ play “Antigone” (part of a trilogy with “Oedipus Rex”). That character met a tragic end while trying to act justly. In Frazier’s play, Tigonie (Michelle E. Mitchell) also seeks justice.

On a pleasant day in Memphis, a local church Bishop (Lawrence Blackwell) is relaxing on a park bench when an attractive young woman walks by with two coffees. One of them is just the way he likes it, but the significance of the coincidence doesn’t dawn on him until they are well into their conversation.

As their discussion continues and intensifies, we learn more about her, and more about him. They share a connection, and it is so much more troublesome than you would guess.

Mitchell and Blackwell (who also directs) keep the tension taut and the portrayals believable, riveting us to the bitter end.  

How much can one leave in the past? What can be forgiven? And even if one repents, what about accountability? The exploration into these questions builds to a conclusion that would have impressed the old Greek playwright.