by AMY BARRATT

Founded by Jay Cutler, The Tsultrum8 Theatre Company burst onto the local scene a year ago with their production of Jesus Hopped the A Train, an Off-Broadway hit set on Riker's Island. That show later moved to the Centaur (a mainstream house founded, incidentally, by Cutler's father Maurice Podbrey) for a successful remount.

Now, the scrappy company has returned to the Balustrade space at the Monument-National with a further exploration of American racial issues, Topdog Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks. This play about two brothers named Lincoln and Booth began its life Off-Broadway, then won a Pulitzer prize for drama (the first ever for an African-American woman) the same week that it opened on Broadway in 2002. The Broadway production starred Jeffrey Wright and rapper Mos Def.

The Tsultrum8 production stars Kwasi Songui and Kwasi Songui. As director, Cutler has cast Songui - his co-star in Jesus - as both brothers. Songui does a satisfactory job of differentiating the two through voice and physicality, and any actor deserves the standing ovation he got on opening night just for getting through the two-hour piece (including intermission). But the question remains: why one actor instead of two?

Perhaps the production wants to suggest that all of us have both characters in us - Lincoln and Booth, hero and assassin, top dog and underdog. The trouble is that Parks' symbolism is already pretty heavy-handed without adding your own layer. Plus, it felt like the decision to double-cast Songui was made first and justified later. This gimmick blurs the clarity of the storyline without adding any appreciable benefit.

Lincoln and Booth are not twins, by the way; Booth is five years younger, more twitchy and insecure than his brother. Lincoln, an acknowledged artist at three-card monte, is trying hard to go straight following the murder of one of his accomplices. He has landed a "sit-down job, with benefits" in an arcade, posing as Abraham Lincoln - whiteface and all - for patrons who pay to shoot blanks at him. Talentless Booth dreams of surpassing his brother at "laying the cards." Parks' dialogue is rich in the poetry of the street, and her play is comfortable moving between comedy and tragedy.

There's no doubt that Tsultrum8 is a welcome addition to the local indie theatre scene, dedicated to producing New York-based playwrights whose work we might otherwise never see (they have also produced Montreal playwrights in NYC). I'm not saying they have a bad show on their hands this time, only that they could probably have had a better one by losing the gimmick.

Also under

No connection with Topdog Underdog is Underdog Productions, an indie company that was to present two one-acts by local playwright Owen Belgrade at McGill Players starting last week. For undisclosed reasons, the opening had to be postponed and, as of late last week, Underdog was looking for a new space. Those interested in attending FIGHT THE POWER! POWER TO THE PEOPLE and Malik Went and Got Himself a White Girl should call 733-2543 for an update.

Topdog Underdog, to Dec. 11 At La Balustrade, Monument-National (1182 St-Laurent), 8:30 p.m., $12, 871-2224

>> Stage Listings