A two-act stage play of strife,
life, love, lust and colonialism on a Caribbean island
Mae Ziglin Meidav's Island Heat is
set in 1965-75 on an island in the Caribbean situated on top of a
geothermal energy reservoir. Evelyn Adams, the main character (from Europe
and of mixed parentage), and her husband Don Adams, a Canadian, settled on
this island some twenty years ago. At the cusp of colonial and island
culture, they maintain pseudo-polite, British-like decorum, living in
relative isolation except for the company of visiting modern explorers who
come to develop the island's natural resources. A native woman, Leontine,
is a servant at the Adams' household. Leontine also serves as Don Adam's
intermittent sexual partner and as Evelyn's unacknowledged companion and
confidante. The current activity on the island involves the drilling of
deep geothermal wells, and Hogan Harris, a project engineer
from New Zealand has come to manage the drilling. Evelyn finds the passion
missing in her marriage from contact with Hogan, his approach to life and
his work. They become lovers. She plans to return to New Zealand with
Hogan when he leaves the island. In the end, she finds the love and
passion she yearns for, but not in the way she expects it.
Phoenix Theatre II, San
Francisco, June 8 - July 14, 2001 |