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Divide by fire
Bristol Riverside Theatre presents Anna Deavere Smith’s Fires in the Mirror
August 1991: the Crown Heights riot breaks out in Brooklyn, New York. Tension between the neighborhood’s Black and Hasidic Jewish residents erupted in the wake of an automobile accident where a Jewish driver struck two Black children, killing one of them. Over several days, violence broke out in the neighborhood, resulting in hundreds of injuries, and the death of an Australian Jewish man.
The burning truth
In Fires in the Mirror, Anna Deavere Smith examines how this race riot exemplifies a prevailing division among the American people, where the long legacy of racial tension in our country calls for an uncomfortable reckoning in the face of continued destruction. Forthcoming at Bristol Riverside Theatre, the start of their 2024-2025 mainstage season, this production seeks to highlight the continued value of examining such divides in modern discourse.
Having premiered Off-Broadway in 1992, Fires in the Mirror resulted from Deavere Smith’s candid interviews with dozens of people on the subject of the riots—high profile figures like Al Sharpton and Angela Davis, as well as everyday residents of Crown Heights, both Jewish and Black. The script, performed in monologue entirely by one actor, creates a vivid portrait from varying perspectives. A television production aired in 1993 on PBS, featuring Anna Deavere Smith.
Bristol Riverside Theatre is presenting the play as it reopens after significant renovations. As part of the company’s ongoing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan, the production will feature a Black Theatre Night that endeavors to “[champion] Black Theatre-makers and the vibrant Black community of Bucks County and Beyond.”
Fires in the Mirror will run at Bristol Riverside Theatre February 4-23. The production features Phyllis Johnson, whose onstage credits include work with Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre Company, and is directed by Amy Kaissar.
What, When, Where
Fires in the Mirror. By Anna Deavere Smith, directed by Amy Kaissar. $15-$62. February 4-23, 2025 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA. (215) 785-0100 or brtstage.org.
Accessibility
Bristol Riverside Theatre is a wheelchair-accessible venue, except the second floor. Audiences are advised to contact the box office to request wheelchair accommodations.
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