Fires In The Mirror

Fires in the Mirror was Anna Deavere Smith’s groundbreaking response to the 1991 Crown Heights race riots in Brooklyn. This exploration of identity and tribalism results in a collage of verbatim interviews that Smith conducted across the Jewish and Black communities, both with everyday New Yorkers and with bold-faced names like activist Al Sharpton, feminist writer Letty Cottin Pogrebin and the late playwright Ntozake Shange. This solo show revolutionized the genre of documentary theatre.

Henry Hewes Award for Media Design
Outer Critics Circle Honor for Outstanding Projection Design
Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Projection Design
Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Projection Design

Directed by Saheem Ali
Starring Michael Benjamin Washington

Set: Arnulfo Maldonado; Costumes: Dede Ayite; Lights: Alan C. Edwards; Sound: Mikaal Sulaiman

Performed at Signature Theatre in New York City, October–December 2019

Photos by Yi Zhao