In the aftermath of the American civil war, Belle and Bowlyn, the children of slaves, make their way north dreaming of a better life. But the "numb, ice blue Yankees" are not as welcoming as they had hoped, money is short and the baby, which spends its day on Belle's back while she spends her day on her knees cleaning white women's floors, needs feeding.
The pair get mixed up with Nance, a poor little rich girl and suffragette, who persuades them to join her in an alliance to fight for votes for women and blacks. Soon Bowlyn is involved in full-time politicking while Belle still spends her days on her knees earning enough money to feed the baby.
The different needs of men and women, black and white, rich and poor come to the fore in Florence Gibson's play about the way political necessity turns to political expediency and how the little people are always at the mercy of institutions. Bowlyn is recruited to join the Republican Party to help it secure the black vote, but then rejected. Nance is no better, ultimately ditching her "sister" when she gets the first sniff of power.
It is hard not to fall for Belle, either the character - who is played here with a simple, direct assurance by Tina Gambe - or the play. Gibson's drama, not typical Gate fare by any means, may have the soft-bellied feel of one of those sweeping family sagas, but it is highly watchable and is distinguished by a use of language that is always interesting. Belle, Bowlyn and Belle's sister Althea speak in a rich, dark, mossy dialect that hails from the Georgia swamplands; it intimately connects thought and emotion, unlike the dissembling northern speech, in which the gap between what is said and done widens as the play continues.
The production makes some curious choices, not least in the set design that breaks up the auditorium, and constantly has the actors popping up in different places. The result is a jumpy rather than fluid feel to the evening. And there is no getting away from the fact that Gibson too often falls back on monologue and melodrama.
But it is an easy, entertaining evening and if it doesn't quite fill you with the rage that it should, it provides a welcome and haunting glimpse into a world where the legacies of the past are like weeds that choke the future.
Until March 31. Box office: 020-7229 0706 .
