I attended Pure Confidence on Wednesday November 20th. I thought it was an extremely well done play. It started right before the Civil War, skipped through the war, and ended about fifteen years after it when slaves were free. It was about a very talented jockey named Simon. Through a deal with the auctioneer, a man named Colonel Wiley was able to consistently buy Simon for a very cheap price of $14. Simon would ride Wiley’s horse, Pure Confidence, in races and consistently win. Simon wants Wiley to buy his freedom, but the Colonel refuses. This causes them to have a fight and Simon races for Wiley’s race rival, George Dewitt. Simon buys Wiley’s wife’s slave, Caroline, because he likes her and they get married. By racing his own horse and Pure Confidence, Simon is able to raise enough money to buy his own freedom. In the second act, just about fifteen years after the war, Simon is working as a bell hop at a hotel and is still married to Caroline. Wiley and his wife, Mattie, appear at the hotel and the four of them are able to talk and the Colonel apologizes to Simon for mistreating him.
I thought that this play was very good. The actors at Richmond so far have exceeded my expectations. I really did not know where to put my expectations because I did not know how serious college theatre programs were or even how good Richmond’s was. That being said, they have been remarkably good. The only thing about the play that I did not like was that the stage was in the middle and the audience was on two sides facing each other. I thought it was kind of distracting and I have never seen anything like that before. Overall though, I would highly recommend seeing this play given any extra time this weekend.
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