In a play that oscillates easily between explicit sexual fantasies and pointed critiques of African American culture, Nina Angela Mercer’s Gutta Beautiful, part of the Fringe Festival, gives a complex picture of contemporary African American life. Written as a “conversation with [her] block,” Mercer’s story is also rooted particularly in D.C. and her life here.

The loose narrative of the story focuses on Lola, a young woman hungry for both sex and love, but who ends up in a relationship that is both physically and psychologically damaging. While the play touches on issues of race, sex, love and politics, it provides no easy answers. In an interview with Mercer over email, she gives some insight into the play itself and the broader issues it addresses.

Although the play’s themes try to capture the universal African American experience, there are many specific references to D.C., such as how the Million Man March failed to make an impact on local African American neighborhoods. How much of the story and its message are particularly rooted in Washington and its history?

I was born and raised here in D.C. Most of the experiences which inspired me to write Gutta Beautiful came from my life here. I think that most people from outside of the District, and also many of the transplants, know D.C. as the seat of the federal government. But for locals, it’s a very different life. In popular culture, especially film, our experiences as native Washingtonians are dwarfed by the White House, the Capitol, the Mall . . . But our stories are equally, if not more, important than what goes on in those places. In fact, the policies set by the federal government are the external factors oppressing the characters in the Gutta.