Beyond the Door of No Return

Diop’s (At Night All Blood Is Black) richly told romantic adventure receives loving treatment in this full-cast production. The story begins in 1806 Paris, as narrator Mark Bramhall conveys the regret running through dying French botanist Michel Adanson’s opening words. Bramhall then passes the tale to Caroline Hewitt, who superbly delivers the reactions of Adanson’s daughter Aglaé as she grieves her father’s death and finds a secret journal detailing his last wishes. Much of the story illuminates Adanson’s myriad emotions as he reflects on the past: his obsession with finding Maram, a noblewoman rumored to be a revenant returned from the dead; his horror when he learned of how Maram was sexually abused and enslaved; and his heartbreak on the night she disappeared. Bramhall piercingly voices Adanson’s helpless rage as he rationalizes his decision to relinquish his dream of being with Maram and marry a French woman instead. Adenrele Ojo’s intense, whispery performance of Maram’s story is spellbinding, and Dion Graham shines as Adanson’s horrified guide and friend Ndiek.