Lynn Manning
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Lynn Manning is an award winning playwright, poet, actor from Los Angeles. Colin Hambrook saw the new production of his autobiographical play Weights in Brighton, at the beginning of its UK tour.
Lynn Manning cuts a striking figure on stage. His entrance begins with a few martial arts moves. Then begins the story of how he was blinded after being shot in a Hollywood bar at age 23. Weights is a stark tale of disability, childhood deprivation and abuse, presented with a deft, poetical edge. It comes from a pure Disability Arts perspective, and fits perfectly into the Extant Production Company stable. Weights is a well crafted piece of storytelling, that presents issues around visual impairment from a compelling and original standpoint.
The story pivots around repeated refrains. When his mother reacts to the news of his blindness with the words I couldn't be so strong,
Manning replies you have to lift weights
. There are refrains in the staging too. After each scene, Manning moves to the side where his brow is mopped and he is given water - like a boxer preparing to go back into the ring for the next round. And there are musical asides from Gary Bergman and subtle changes of lighting, which alter the ambience and echo the drama being played out. There is humour where Manning describes the surrealism of professionals and individuals fearful reactions to his plight. And there is a serious endeavour to express the truth.
Weights mirrors Extants' last production Resistance, by dwelling on the visual experience of blindness, as one of its central themes. In the absence of light, light and shadow, colour and contrast fall away
. Thus Manning describes some of his first impressions after leaving hospital. The sun hit smack in the face like something solid
. He goes on to explain how the brain compensates for sensory loss: Through a nebulous fog of colour swirl - I could manipulate colours in a mental palette - was it blindness or madness
.
Manning contradicts the tragic but brave notion that coming to terms with blindness is an ordeal that takes years. Three weeks after leaving hospital he was keen to pursue his dreams and follow an academic career. His rehab counsellor had other ideas. Insisting that there had to be a problem with Manning's attitude, the counsellor offers him a future of selling lottery tickets. If he is lucky he might open his own vendor franchise, eventually.
Undaunted Manning perseveres. He can no longer fulfil his dream of becoming a visual artist but he can learn to paint with words. Weights weaves and spins the storytelling around the juxtaposition of poetic phrasing and rhythmical imagery. Poems like Magic Wand are central pivots for finding the language to express the profound metamorphosis Manning went through: From black man to blind man - white man's burden to everyman's burden
. And so the play expresses his will to come to terms with other people's attitudes and perceptions - the barriers to the realisation of his dreams. Manning cites poetic and literary influences including The Last Poets and Gill Scott Heron through to Maya Angelou, Ralf Ellison, Melville and Joyce.
Lynn Manning's energy seems relentless. Weights is an important offering, challenging race and disability stereotypes with ease and engagement.
To find out more about Lynn Manning go to his homepage at: www.lynnmanning.com.
Listen to an Interview with Peter White on Radio Four's In Touch.
last updated: 2005-07-01 00:00:00
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