The lights come up and a fight begins. A Recruit chooses to fight an officer as a test of her fitness to join the Army. Members of the Army look on, pounding poles and feet as they add intensity to the scene. Army members wear motley uniforms but all have The Mark, an upside down capital Y slashed in red across their faces.
The Mark is a world premiere play by Babes With Blades Theatre Company, directed by Richard Costes. Playwright Jillian Leff creates a classist dystopian society, set two centuries in the future, after nuclear war has destroyed most of humanity. The new world is divided into settlements, each with its own elite Army and government. The rest of the population are Laborers.
The Mark is tense and violent—two hours of drama as the Army tests new recruits, discovers a Resistance group among the Laborers, and struggles to keep control of their territory. (Strangely, one section of the opening-night audience found the story hilarious and often broke out into noisy laughter, which was totally unrelated to the action on stage.)
Raina Pax and her father Jonas operate a bakery where people purchase food with their ration slips. Jonas (Tamarus Harvell) was rejected for the Army but finds running his bakery satisfying work. (We learn later he has a special Army connection and he’s also active in the Resistance.) Raina (MJ Handsome) is a smart young woman who isn’t sure what she wants her future to look like, but the Army brings her in for testing as a Recruit and she thinks that it may be her best option.
Raina fails her final fighting test, but the Commander (Amy J. Johnson) hires her to be her assistant because Raina has done well on all her other tests; the Commander sees her as the new kind of recruit that the Army needs. In this scene, the Commander describes some of the settlement’s history for Raina. The playwright might consider adding some of this backstory earlier in the play to add some needed context to the storyline.
The Mark also features Maureen Yasko and Fin Coe as tough senior officers Cain and Peters and Nicky Jasper as Maxwell, a new officer. Raina is befriended by Jack (Whit Baxter Bates), another Recruit who desperately wants to join the Army because it will bring some prestige and comfort to his family. Five other actors play multiple roles.
Director Costes keeps the action energetic with a constant air of danger. A few scenes that are set in the past would benefit from time identification. The performances are generally good. MJ Handsome gives a strong performance as Raina, as does Maureen Yasko as the officer bully Cain and Amy Johnson as the Commander. Amy C. Gilman’s set design is made up mostly of wooden crates of various sizes, which the cast quickly move and turn into benches, beds, a desk, and Jonas’ bakery counter.
Hazel Monson is fight director and Carly Belle Cason is assistant fight choreographer. Lighting is by Laura J. Wiley and sound design by Hannah Foerschler. Costumes are by Kasey Wolfgang. Stage manager is Grace Elizabeth Mealey.
Playwright Jillian Leff is a Babes With Blades ensemble member who describes herself as an actor and stage combat nerd. Her play The S Paradox was produced by BWB in 2024.
The Mark by Babes With Blades Theatre Company continues through November 22 at the Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway. Running time is 2.25 hours including one intermission. Tickets are $35, with discounts available, for performances Thursday-Sunday. Babes With Blades uses stage combat to tell stories that elevate the voices of the underrepresented and dismantle the patriarchy.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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