The Thanksgiving Play – 05 May 2023

Larissa Fasthorse, playwright of The Thanksgiving Play, possesses a rare gift: the gift to simultaneously instill guilt, amusement, embarrassment, laughter, indignation, and relief. Her critique of well-meaning Americans is scathing, as she reminds her audience that political and social extremes are dangerous, and, on both sides, come with high levels of misunderstanding, hurtful actions, and a false sense of righteousness.

This critique on wokeness juxtaposes racist children’s Thanksgiving performances with a seemingly sincere effort from White educators to create something better. These teachers are hopelessly misguided, ethical vegans embodying every stereotype of social and political awareness taken too far. D’Arcy Carden plays an actress who uses her ethnically ambiguous looks to get roles written for people of color. She flounces in, projecting a different image of Whiteness—one of ignorance and narcissism. Her stage presence is captivating to watch, even when she is not speaking, waiting to be told what to do by the teachers who can’t figure out an appropriate way to teach difficult subject material.

Every possible angle of potentially appropriate Thanksgiving performance idea is discussed: speaking on behalf of indigenous Americans, saying nothing on anybody else’s behalf thus allowing silence to be power, researching history but not dramatizing it, wordless pantomimes that get bloody and confusing… These well-meaning educators try every idea that they have and none of them feel sufficient. So what do they do, in the end? They mirror United States history by seeing a problem, giving up on solving it, and deciding to do nothing. The impact of this ending sends a powerful ripple through an American audience, realizing that we still cannot provide accurate or even adequate education on the things we have done wrong.

It all sounds haunting. But the way it’s presented? Well, it’s actually quite funny. Even as I see myself and my loved ones in these characters, I am able to take a step back and appreciate the irony and the humor of a culture that teaches us to be ashamed but not apologetic. I can laugh at antiracism, bizarre relationship boundaries, unrealistic efforts to help the environment. I can laugh at people who care about injustice. The Thanksgiving Play is a reminder that I have the freedom and the right to do these things because I live in a liberal, first-world context that keeps me isolated from the issues I allege to care about. I don’t see the consequences of my beliefs every day; others do. Indigenous American history is American history, and I hope that some day mainstream American society won’t be too afraid to look at the genocide we inflicted, apologize, and adequately explain it to future generations.

I did not attend this performance on a press pass.