“Dutchman” and “The Slave” reveal the mind of Amiri Baraka

11/07/2025

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This is a medium-shot photograph capturing three actors on a stage set for a play. On the left, a man of color wearing a light tan shirt, voluminous reddish-orange pants, and a beret stands on the upper steps of a wooden staircase, looking directly forward with a serious expression. He appears to be holding a rifle or prop gun slung across his chest. In the center, a female actor, seen from the back, wears a black, fitted bodice with ruffles and a long, full white or sheer skirt, facing two steps and a small shelving unit. To the right, a white man in dark trousers, a white shirt, and a silver and black patterned vest gestures outward with his right hand as he looks towards the woman. The set includes a small living area with two salmon-colored armchairs, and some tall, dried grasses are visible against the dark backdrop on the far right. The stage is brightly lit, contrasting with the dark background. — Phillip Brown, Deidre Rose, Peter Bisgaier (Photo by Habiyb Shu Aib)

This is a photograph capturing a quiet, focused scene between two actors on a stage, suggesting the intimate setting of a subway car for the play "Dutchman." A well-dressed Black man in a brown tweed blazer, tan sweater, and khaki pants is seated on the left, looking straight ahead while holding an open magazine (possibly TIME). A blonde white woman in a short, white, patterned sleeveless dress and high white boots is seated opposite him on the right, leaning on her right hand and gazing intently at the man. The backdrop is a dark, teal-colored wall, likely representing the subway car interior, featuring a large map of a city (possibly New York) and a dark, hanging sign to the left. The scene is brightly lit on the actors, contrasting with the dark foreground where the blurred silhouettes of audience members' heads are visible. — Phillip Brown, Deidre Rose (Photo by Habiyb Shu Aib)

Playwright-poet-political activist-music critic-essayist Amiri Baraka (1934-2014) was a passionate critic of 20th Century society, especially systemic racism and the capitalist system. In his plays, Baraka transforms his beliefs and theories into people and sets them up in all their contradictions. He leaves no clear conclusions about rightness and wrongness; it’s as though he wants his audiences to examine their own beliefs and make up their own minds.

Two of Baraka’s plays, Dutchman and The Slave, have been combined by the Passage Theatre Company in Trenton, now in their 41st season with the theme “Not Afraid”, into one intense night in the theatre. Powerfully directed by Ozzie Jones (2024’s Ghetto Gods in Divineland), the three members of the cast — Philip Brown, Deidre Rose, and Peter Bisgaier — play three archetypes as different characters in each of the two plays: the Black Man, the White Woman, and the White Man.

In Dutchman, Brown is Clay, a young middle-class black man riding the subway in New York City. Rose is Lula, a provocative white woman who, from the minute she gets on the subway, is making barely disguised sexual overtures to Clay. Lula throws everything at him she can, including making physical contact with Clay and verbally trying to reduce him to a “type” like every other black man.

Clay begins to fall for Lula’s advances until she goes too far. Clay verbally overcomes her, forcing her to sit and be quiet as he unleashes a volcanic, frustrated-angry rant at her of all the insults and mistreatments piled on him throughout his life. Bisgaier shows up at the play’s end as an unnamed rider, presumably an onlooker to the action, to appear appalled at the outcome.

This is a photograph capturing a high-energy moment from a live theater performance, likely the play "Dutchman" based on the file name. The scene is set on a brightly lit stage with three actors and an audience visible in the foreground. The central set features a staircase leading to a platform and a small living area underneath. A male actor on the left, dressed in flowing, saffron-colored costume and dark boots, stands dramatically on a stair with his arm raised high. In the center, another male actor in a white shirt and dark pants is bent over in an intense, reactive pose. To the right, a female actor in a black jacket and long, light-colored skirt is crouched low, leaning forward with palpable emotion. The backdrop features stone and timber walls dramatically lit by red and blue theatrical lights, highlighting the tension and energy of the performance. — Phillip Brown, Peter Bisgaier, Deidre Rose (Photo by Habiyb Shu Aib)

The Slave is set in an unspecified location, presumably in the United States, during a future race war between blacks and whites. Brown is Walker, the leader of the blacks, committed to killing all whites, combatants or not, as the solution to ongoing systemic racism. Bisgaier is Bradford Easley, and Rose is his wife, Grace. Bradford and Walker are former university colleagues. The Easleys have two daughters who Walker claims as his own and whom he wishes to take with him.

As explosions and gunfire resound outside, Walker keeps the Easleys at gunpoint, spouting his philosophy as justification for indiscriminate killing as he keeps drinking his former colleague’s liquor. While Bradford is hopelessly ineffective, Grace battles Walker, reminding him that the girls are hers too, her claim to them as strong — if not stronger — than his, a point Walker consistently discards since it does not align with his opinions.

In these two plays, Baraka comes across as polemicist-as-playwright. His positions on race relations and his espoused solutions to systemic racial injustice are reflected in the two black characters in the plays. Clay’s rant and Walker’s race war justifications trigger extreme outcomes at the end of each play from following those solutions.

This is a photograph of a single actor seated on a stage, likely portraying Clay at the opening of the play "Dutchman." The man, who is Black, is dressed neatly in a brown tweed jacket, rust-colored sweater, and light khaki pants, embodying an educated, middle-class demeanor. He is seated on a narrow bench against a dark teal wall, representing a subway car, with a brown briefcase resting at his feet. He is absorbed in reading an open magazine with a colorful cover, while holding onto a vertical metal pole next to the seat. The set is detailed with a large map and two signs on a corrugated metal panel to the left, and the background fades into darkness, emphasizing the isolation and focus on the character. — Phillip Brown (Photo by Habiyb Shu Aib)

I admit to not being acquainted with any of Amiri Baraka’s writings before seeing Dutchman and The Slave. I do not know if knowing them beforehand would make these plays any easier to understand. But I do know that these expressions of Baraka’s mind and thought are dense, powerful plays. They are not here to provide entertainment; they are not here to be loved or even necessarily liked. They are here to begin an exploration of race in America, one that in too many cases is long overdue, one that is hard. If these are the types of plays that you seek, then I suggest you make your way to Trenton’s Passage Theatre Company to see Dutchman and The Slave.

Dutchman and The Slave are presented by the Passage Theatre Company at the Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton through Nov. 16, 2025. For more information or to order tickets, go to passagetheatre.org.