The Light and the Dark

"A feminist primal scream." —The Associated Press

"Hamill, an accomplished performer who also plays the central role, strides onstage, takes a long look at the blank canvas in front of her, and then considers her audience. From the first line of the play—about composition, story and perspective—we sense that yes, this is a character working within that 17th century artists' studio set; but she is also talking to us, here and now and today. No stilted, highfalutin' language, no endless painterly jargon that'll set you perusing your program or staring at your watch, wondering just how long this is gonna take. From the opening scene—which starts in 'the sweltering swamp air of Rome, 1593'—we are instantly as one with Hamill and the world of Artemisia Gentileschi . . . 'Hamill's performance as Artemisia . . . is exemplary.' . . . 'I don't just paint ladies and saints, I paint whores and nurses and servants!,' Hamill exclaims as the stage walls are flooded with paintings by Gentileschi. 'I paint them strong, I paint them angry! My women never weep! And my prostitutes look like Madonnas, and vice-versa.' Strong words. Strong performance. Strong play." —NY Stage Review

"Soul-searching. In The Light and the Dark, Hamill inhabits the title role with a tender ferociousness . . . The show is visually beautiful . . . Carroll and Hamill make The Light and the Dark feel relevant to what is happening today, particularly in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Both female actors, Hamill as Artemisia and Parsons as Maria, ultimately take ownership of their bodies away from the men while subverting the male gaze; each gets fully nude, standing boldly onstage, not mere naked subjects to be depicted on canvas but real women shouting out their independence. They might not be holding daggers, preparing to cut off a perpetrator's head, but you can see and feel their weapons nonetheless." —This Week in New York

"Fascinating. Hamill's performance here is extraordinary . . . The Light and the Dark brings a lesser-recognized artist to life in vivid, arresting detail. More stories like this one of female resistance ('not I but we') are necessary now, and this one is well-told." —TheaterMania

"Author of numerous plays celebrating historical women, Hamill has invested this new drama with fierce passion. Hamill delivers a fiery, tour de force performance lasting two and a half hours, during which Artemisia provides an exhaustive, non-stop narrative of her traumatic life, interspersed with dramatic scenes . . . as the indefatigable playwright/actress, Kate Hamill delivers an overpowering, Olympian performance." —TheaterPizzazz