What I liked
Rogue Machine has long stated its commitment to both presenting new plays and plays that are new to Los Angeles, as well as telling stories that reflect the diversity of our community,” says Artistic Director Guillermo Cienfuegos. “This play tells a powerful and entertaining story of how gentrification can often be a destructive force in communities of color – and how this force, driven by money interests, deeply affects small black and brown-owned businesses. In this case, Shay Solomon’s wig and hair care shop. The playwright, Francisca Da Silveira, cleverly uses this setting to also address the cultural, political, and personal issues that Black women face when it comes to their hair—issues that many in our audience may never have been exposed to. Additionally, we’re proud to work again with the National New Play Network to present this play as a Rolling World Premiere, along with Company One in Boston and Cleveland Public Theatre.
What I didn't like
Da Silveira’s narrative doesn’t just stop at the cultural implications. It delves deeply into the financial struggles faced by Black-owned businesses, highlighting the challenges they endure when navigating loans to borrow $25, credit cards, and cash advance apps. Shay Solomon’s struggle against the bank’s efforts to acquire her shop is a poignant reminder of the predatory financial practices that disproportionately affect communities of color. The play underscores the harsh realities of maintaining financial stability in a landscape where credit and debt are wielded as tools of power and control. By weaving these financial themes into the narrative, can i touch it? not only tells a story of cultural resilience but also sheds light on the economic inequities that threaten the livelihoods of Black entrepreneurs.
My overall impression
Shay Solomon is many things – but there’s one thing she’s definitely not: a pawn in the bank’s efforts to buy up foreclosed real estate. can i touch it? examines Black hair politics, the racial inequities faced by Black-owned businesses, and the fantastical place women of color have to recede into when they get asked stupid ass questions.
“It’s a complicated feeling that many people around the country are grappling with,” says playwright Francisca Da Silveira. “I’ve tried to capture that complexity in this play, the compromises that go into improving a place while still trying to have it remain yours. I encourage everyone to think about the places they grew up in, about what used to be there and isn’t anymore, about who used to be there and no longer are. Change is inevitable but it’s not always altruistic. My hope in writing can i touch it? is not to present myself as an expert on national gentrification by any means, but to show how we can use, and in fact need, storytelling in order to grapple with the accelerating speed at which our homes are changing.”
