Fairview, in a three-act sequence, challenges notions of spectatorship and brings up questions of representation in the way black narratives are appropriated and commandeered to suit the white gaze. In unpeeling though the story of the Frazier family, Drury brings into our purview the layers of spectatorship that surround the family, and therefore, makes us complicit in the making of what unfolds. Following the cues of the conversation in Act 2 and the mockery that becomes of the family by Act 3, I draw inspiration from the circus. The design intends to supplement this layering and trapping by adapting, metaphorically, the stage to that of a circus and draws references from Cirque du Soleil. Much like Drury, the set reveals itself along with the acts to enable an understanding of the undercurrent that the story tries to bring forth.

Could the narrative force of Drury’s unpeeling of the layers of appropriation that surround and warp the Frazier family, and black narratives at large, be understood through the lens of a circus?