“Before Jim Crow jumped, there was a man.… Now the progeny can’t just be.”
—Gerrad Alex Taylor in I Know How to Curse
In DC, the unsung heroes of impactful theater inspired by the classics appear to be small theaters with eclectic artists who have something to say. Black artists reclaiming minstrel shows have been a recent, unusual, yet powerful trend in DC theaters. We saw it earlier this season in Spooky Action Theater’sTambo and Bones by Dave Harris. Now, Perisphere Theater’s I Know How to Curse: a re-blackening of shakespeare by writer and solo performer Gerrad Alex Taylor offers another take on reclaiming minstrelsy. It’s apt, as theater is rooted in minstrelsy: an offshoot of musical theater in which white men performed as Black people in blackface.
Where Tambo and Bones succeeded in its sharp take on race-based capitalism, I Know How to Curse shares a more personal take on the politics of casting in the classical canon. Taylor — a Black performer, historically prevented from playing roles seen as “white default” in classical theater — reclaims his space through a combination of satirical stand-up comedy, classical texts he’s been dying to perform, and personal reflections. It’s hysterical and powerful. Under Nigel Semaj’s direction, Taylor has crafted a world that feels cartoony, surreal, and human all at once.
Before the show begins, audiences are welcomed by a presentation providing context on the history of minstrel shows; its three-act structure consisting of jokes and banter with the audience, a variety show, and a final comic opera, burlesque, or farce set to song; and topics such as blackface, colonialism, and elements of popular culture with remnants of minstrelsy (dramaturgy by Shana Laski). For example, the white gloves donned by classic cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse were also worn by minstrel performers.
I Know How to Curse offers a wholly original way of turning the three-act structure of minstrel shows on its head by playing into, then rejecting, stereotypes. Taylor is first an uproarious stand-up comedian who somehow goes from complaints about going to the dentist, to reflections on language (did you know Shakespeare used the word “niggard” in its original definition, meaning “miser”?), to knock-knock jokes that transition into dirtier and edgier territory. Taylor then plays himself as he talks to white and Black people who tell him he can’t play roles in Twelfth Night, Henry IV, and more. He argues that Hotspur, the villainous foil in Henry IV, is actually a “Black character,” and he interprets The Tempest’s Caliban as a “prince” of the island, not a “slave.” (Two dummies with ruffs are used to portray Trinculo and Stephano, The Tempest’s comic relief characters.)
It’s a whirlwind, jarring environment. The show’s set (Oscar Escobedo) places us in a theater, with “the stage” where Taylor performs and “the dressing room” where we see his inner thoughts. It’s amplified by intense lighting color shifts (by Dean Leong) when he’s “speaking to the audience” and when “playing the part,” especially in the Shakespeare section. The costumes tend to be cartoony. Standouts include plentiful wigs and a “half-white, half-Black” jacket that divides Taylor in half while he’s playing all characters.
In its script, I Know How to Curse almost reverses the journey that Tambo and Bones made. Tambo and Bones went from a recreation of minstrelsy to a variety show concert to the “future.” I Know How to Curse goes from present-day stand-up to a variety show blend of classic text and contemporary commentary, to a recreation of minstrelsy in its final scene. Putting “acts” in this order gives the audience emotional buy-in and an understanding of where Taylor is coming from as a human being before he performs in a style that he is advocating against.
Illustrating how racism was put on stage historically not only reminds you that people really did perpetuate this awful practice; it’s also a reclamation of history because you see something that white people want you to forget. It’s scary that it can be entertaining and exaggeratedly funny. Yet, it’s when Taylor is gut-wrenchingly honest that this show rises to a whole new level. His cartoon-like silliness, weighty speech, and resilience are admirable. He fights to be seen, with such physical strength and vocal power that you wonder who dared to deny him the opportunity to play classical roles.
I Know How to Curse will leave you with a lot of questions: What does it take to claim your space? Can you do it alone, or do you need a community? Do you need to shout, or be more subtle? What’s clear from the experience of this show: It’s exhausting to explain shit. Maybe you need to be meta for the world to find engaging ways into your life, and to understand you. Maybe theater that is not linear reflects lives that aren’t linear, and what a grand time it is to wrap your brain around it.
Running Time: 90 minutes, without intermission.
I Know How to Curse: a re-blackening of shakespeare plays through April 25, 2026, presented by Perisphere Theater performing at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St, Bethesda, MD, where Perisphere is in residence. Tickets are $35 ($30 for seniors 55+ and $20 for students) and available online.
I Know How to Curse: a re-blackening of shakespeare
Written and performed by Gerrad Alex Taylor
Directed by Nigel Semaj
Assistant Director: La’Trelle Jamez
Stage Manager: Megan Eich
Scenic Design: Oscar Escobedo
Properties: Tessara Morgan Farley
Lighting Design: Dean Leong
Sound Design: Cheryl J. Williams
Resident Dramaturg: Shana Laski
Run Crew: Seun Bewaji, Josh Biatch
SEE ALSO:
‘I Know How to Curse: a re-blackening of shakespeare’ to premiere at Perisphere (news story, April 2, 2026)
