Theatre and Dance's "Trains" review: On a layover

The Department of Theatre and Dance put on their first production of the year in a show written by a Troy professor.

“Trains,” written by theatre Professor Quinton Cockrell, is a play about a Black family – the Hamptons – who were victims of the 1919 Corbin Kentucky race riot. The riot was a real-world event in which a group of white people in Corbin forced all the Black residents of the city on train cars at gunpoint and sent them off to Knoxville, Tennessee.

The play takes place in 1932, amid the Great Depression, in Knoxville at the Hamptons’ family home. In Corbin, they worked for a white family called the Greevys, whom they grew close to before they were sent off to Knoxville to fend for themselves. Then, Junior Greevy, the son of Mr. Greevy, shows up at their home after 13 years.

Upon walking into the theatre, the stage set – the inside of the Hamptons’ house – really surprised me with how visually appealing it was. That’s not to say it looked like a nice, affluent home, actually the opposite. The set did a great job of portraying the rugged, rundown life that the family was living while still holding elements that played into the story and made for an interesting watch.

The costumes were great too, though they looked a little too nice for a poor family in the Great Depression to have. To their credit though, the play wouldn’t have been as pretty if all the characters were dressed in rags and beat up boots. Overall, the visuals did a great job of immersing me in the setting of the show and keeping me engaged throughout the show.

As far as performances go, all four of the actors in the show did a fantastic job. Cockrell, playing the father, Lester Hampton, was the perfect comedic relief for what was an emotionally heavy production otherwise. As the most experienced actor on the stage, he kept the audience laughing throughout the duration, but he could lay down the dramatic hammer when the scene called for it.

Kelvin Gamble, playing the lead, Travis Hampton, gave some of the most believably emotional performances I’ve seen from Troy’s theatre department. I didn’t quite tear up, but certain scenes sent chills up my arms.

Makiah Paschal, playing Isla Hampton, and Reese Lemaster, playing Junior, were what they needed to be as supporting characters for Gamble. Paschal was the best out of the student actors when it came to the serious and intimate moments. Lemaster did a great job going from the extreme straight character that was Junior in the first half of the play, then switching to the more complex Junior in the second half of the play, which really allowed his emotional side to shine.

Most of the criticisms I found with the play lie in its pacing and the progression of the story. The first act had a heavy focus on the turmoil that Travis was feeling which, though it was portrayed well, was so crushing at some points that I almost stopped having fun. I found some of the scenes lingered a little too long in their discomfort, something that didn’t resonate with me personally.

By the end of the first act, I was almost relieved I had a break from the deep unsettled feeling sitting in me, but in a play that tackles so many heavy topics like racism, depression and assault, it feels like that’s exactly what Cockrell and Director Tori Lee Avevritt wanted.

7.3/10.