When playwright Vincent Terrell Durham attended his stepfather\u2019s funeral nearly 15 years ago, he recalls the cascade of beautiful eulogies that were delivered, cementing the legacy of the man who raised him. There was one problem: Durham wasn\u2019t sure who this person was that the speakers were fawning over.<\/p>\n
As Durham further examined what the speakers recalled that he could not, a critical clue came across him in the form of a seminal memory.<\/p>\n
Durham\u2019s stepfather and biological father did not have a relationship, but the two men crossed paths when Durham was a young teenager. In that moment, his stepfather gave his father some tone-deaf advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy stepfather was trying to convey to my father how important it is for him to come see me and spend time with me,\u201d Durham recalled. \u201cIt was interesting because this man who didn\u2019t care for me from the age of 4 to whatever was taking the time to tell my dad that he needed to come around more often.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moments like these, which serve as Durham\u2019s exploration between a Black father and son, are the basis for the world premiere \u201cRunning After Shadows,\u201d Durham\u2019s one-man show opening at San Jose\u2019s City Lights Theater Company for a three-week run beginning Jan. 24.<\/p>\n
The story revolves around Morgan, an up-and-coming gourmet utilizing social media to build his fledgling career. As is the case with influencer culture, a typical Instagram unboxing of a new kitchen gadget leads to a live, unexpected discovery, one that brings him in direct conversation with his painful past, informed by his absent father.<\/p>\n
The play won Theatre Bay Area\u2019s 2025 Rella Lossy Award, given to an emerging playwright who has secured a world premiere in one of nine Bay Area counties in the coming year. Having the premiere at City Lights is fitting, considering the company originally commissioned the play in 2020. But as happens with play development, the current iteration is much more along the lines of what Durham really wanted to explore. That starts and ends with Durham\u2019s willingness to apply \u201cgrace\u201d to each of his fathers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my opinion, my stepfather didn\u2019t care for me because I belonged to some other man, and I believe that with all my heart,\u201d Durham said. \u201cAnd my father was just absent, you know? But at my stepfather\u2019s funeral, it allowed me to see that he had grown, even though I hadn\u2019t seen that. But these people who attended showed me the growth he had gone through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Durham is part of an explosion of works by a new wave of gay Black playwrights. He and Michael R. Jackson, Donja R. Love, James Ijames and Jordan E. Cooper, among others, are giving actors opportunities to play characters that examine the honest nature of Black love in all forms. It\u2019s an opportunity that actor James Arthur M., who plays Morgan, embraces.<\/p>\n
M. does not have a lot in common with the issues his character is wrestling with, but recalls the journey he went on with his dad when he came out. Despite a continued strong relationship with his father, there are certainly aspects of his life he can connect personally to Morgan\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n
\u201cMorgan is experiencing a lot of isolation, trying to find a sense of community and belonging,\u201d M. said. \u201cI\u2019ve been there before, and I think that, regardless of race, any queer person is going to see a lot of themselves in this story. There\u2019s a lot of great universality of our journey and process, of trying to survive and then move to a place where we can possibly thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The effect of Durham\u2019s upbringing was impactful, but the playwright has created space to explore the cause in this work. The traumas that may have limited his fathers\u2019 ability to thrive is one of the play\u2019s most insightful examinations.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the men in this play, there\u2019s some kind of trauma they\u2019ve gone through and they\u2019ve not resolved it,\u201d Durham said. \u201cMaybe this influenced how they acted toward the women in their lives, how they acted toward me in their life. Morgan has his own trauma, and he is working through that in the play, or at least that\u2019s what I want him to work through in order to find a way to forgive his father.\u201d<\/p>\n