Review: ‘The Wash’ depicts Atlanta history with a fresh scent

The Wash, running at Synchronicity Theatre through June 30 and then Impact Theatre from July 10 through July 28, is a terrific, witty play that brings a lesser-known chapter of Atlanta history to life.

The production, which is full of fun dialogue, clever staging, vibrant design and great characters, feels inspirational without coming across as tediously instructive or too heavy. It never wallows in trauma, though there is a moment set in the aftermath of violence.

Instead, the audience gets caught up in the mission of these characters, based upon the real women who organized the Washerwomen Strike of 1881, a successful labor protest led by Black women throughout the city.

In Kelundra Smith’s sharp script, Anna (Tanya Freeman) owns a house in Fourth Ward, where she and other washerwomen take in the laundry of many city residents — yet they aren’t being paid what they’re owed for the work. Many customers stiff them altogether or trade them beans and rice, as though Black women were the lowest rung on the economic ladder. In frustration, the women begin refusing work, which raises a literal stink throughout the city.

But these multigenerational characters do more than protest; they live and breathe. Better, they joke and gossip, supporting one another through everyday troubles beyond the strike.

The ensemble of The Wash has excellent chemistry.

In addition to Freeman’s strong work as protagonist Anna, the show features a scene-stealing performance from Nevaina as Jeanie, a blunt, hilarious older woman who is more interested in other people’s personal business than in the strike.

According to Synchronicity, Nevaina stepped into the role after another actress left the play, learning her extensive dialogue and blocking one week before opening night. She’s incredible.

Kenedi Deal, Jamila Turner and Makallen Kelley, portraying the three younger workers in the laundry, do beautifully layered work. Smith’s script defines each character’s individual goals, then lets their differences in background and temperament create natural tensions.

In the second act, Charis Sellick appears as a washerwoman from Cabbagetown, her race and privilege creating new layers of conflict.

Still, some of the most remarkable scenes in The Wash are without any dialogue — scenes that simply show the harsh, difficult work these women did together in grueling temperatures for hours. It’s remarkable world-building, directed by Brenda Porter and choreographed by Dawn Axam, and it immerses the audience into what is really at stake.

Use of screen projections by Kimberly Binns during scene transitions help provide context and the larger impact of the strike, while the play remains squarely focused on these women.

Other design elements of note are the crisp period costumes by Dr. L. Nyrobi Moss, essential in a play about clean clothes.

Come out for The Wash. It is rich, interesting storytelling, inspired by our city. 

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Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, Impacted, was published by The Story Plant.