The Wilma Theater presents Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke

What distinguishes director Blanka Zizka’s stunning return to the Wilma with the regional premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke is the contemporary urgency she draws out of the material. While the play is rooted in the complex geopolitical realities of the early 20th century, the emotions and resentments it explores feel sharply of-the-moment.

The plot unfolds quickly. Gavrilo (Suli Holum) and Nedeljko (Sarah Gliko) meet fellow “lunger” Trifko (Brandon J. Pierce) in an abandoned warehouse. All three lean into the outsized toughness of the vulnerable young men they portray. Trifko introduces the two to the Black Hand, a nationalist group led by the forceful Apis (played with full cult-leader charm by Steven Rishard), who is orchestrating the assassination of the archduke. At Apis’s compound, they’re fed, indoctrinated, and handed a violent sense of purpose.

Masterful hands

Joseph bends history to his advantage, allowing the characters’ doubts, fears, and small hopes to shine. The final scene, set on a train to Sarajevo, imagines the paths these men might take if they chose something other than the assassination. It’s a delicate hat trick: the play begins as a quippy historical comedy, shifts into a political thriller, and lands as a haunting meditation on the choices we make to either engage in or resist violence.

Fortunately, the play is in masterful hands. Zizka, the Wilma’s founding artistic director, directs with precision and cohesion, allowing the tonal shifts to build upon each other rather than clash. The cast meets the challenge beautifully. Melanye Finister, as Sladjana the cook, makes a meal of her role in the first act and provides a powerful moral foil to Apis in Act II. Holum, as Gavrilo, is particularly affecting—funny, awkward, and heartbreaking as he stumbles toward infamy.

Chillingly current

Matt Saunders’ monumental wooden plank set is powerfully stark, reshaped beautifully by Thom Weaver’s lighting. Jorge Cousineau’s projections are bold and often breathtaking, blending dreams, memories, and tension. It is the first time I can recall visual effects receiving applause.

Given the play’s dense historical context, dramaturg Kellie Mecleary’s contributions are vital. Her essay in the digital program and on a dramaturgical webpage help unpack the stakes and background of the story. It’s well worth reviewing these materials before attending, though the emotional clarity of the performances ensures that even newcomers to the history will find much to hold onto.

In an age when the allure of nationalism and tribalism grows louder by the day, Archduke feels chillingly current. Desperate, angry people, it seems, are always ready to repeat history.