The story of a student who accuses his professor of racism plays out across multiple perspectives in Paper. (Photo courtesy of Capital Fringe)

Reminds us of: A David Mamet show with Pulp Fiction’s eye for scene repetition.

Flop, Fine or Fringe-tastic?: Fringe-tastic.

College campuses frequently serve as flashpoints for clashing value systems between generations, but the polarization around these fights means it can be difficult to meaningfully deconstruct them, even in art. Paper makes some clever choices to work around those limitations and comes closer than most to having important conversations without playing too much of an ideological hand.

The action of the show revolves around a conflict that’s played out time and again in recent years. The young black student Emmanuel (S. Rex Carnegie) perceives the recent actions of his older white professor Sophia (Hilary Kascer) as racist. She, in turn, struggles to understand why her previously spotless anti-racist bona fides are now in question. Instead of offering an easy answer, Paper instead replays the scene from several different, unexpected angles, where the character and power dynamics shift drastically. In an impressive feat of acting, the players portray multiple versions of characters through the same dialogue. Framing the conflict from multiple perspectives allows the show to advance a useful dialogue without succumbing to banalities of the binary.

Where to See It: Logan Fringe Arts Space on July 12 at 7:15 p.m., July 16 at 11:30 a.m., July 20 at 5:30 p.m. and July 22 at 1:45 p.m. Buy tickets here.

See here for all of DCist’s 2017 Capital Fringe coverage. All shows are $17, with a button ($7) required for entry.