‘Till’ focuses on the pain — and resiliency — of a woman of color — and why she’s made it through this season, by becoming a social justice advocate.
“Until” is an observational piece about a woman named Jory, whose life takes a sudden turn for the worst. She’s homeless, on medications for psychiatric disorders, dealing with suicidal urges, and struggling with the aftermath of a brutal sexual assault she endured in her 20s. Jory, we learn, has lived a life of privilege — having attended private schools, gotten married young, and had four children. She’s had a career, worked as a journalist and political activist, and lived in a three-bedroom townhome. “Until” is about her downward spiral, her fears surrounding suicide, and her attempts to find hope and a second chance. It’s also about her relationship with her children, her relationship with her ex, and how these relationships have shaped her sense of who she is. The show has received a lot of praise, so I was intrigued when I began reading it, and was excited when I saw that it had been written and directed by a Black women.
I caught up with Jory over the phone and learned a lot about herself and what her experience meant for her as well as for other women of color and for the show. “Until” is a personal story for Jory, and an important one. It’s a story about what it means to be a woman in America — and what it means to be black in America.
A lot of young people of color may have a tendency to think of themselves as victims, to think that they are the first ones to go wrong in the world, that they are the ones that are being beaten, the ones who are being robbed, whatever it is. In the show, there are a lot of different people who are trying to bring a different vision to the story. They really wanted to show a different kind of identity and the different kinds of issues that young people
