August Wilson's Century Cycle -- Two Trains Running

 

Two Trains Running is Wilson’s most insular play, with the action confined to the front area of small diner run by the angry and fiery Memphis. The patrons who wander in and out bring with them the worries of a world in the midst of violent change and never-ending uncertainty for blacks. Once again, Wilson has committed much of the pain felt by African-Americans to a young man, Sterling, who wants more than he can achieve and can’t seem to get out of his own way.

In many ways, Risa is like the other damaged women from Wilson's century: Wary of the men they find themselves surrounded by and shouldering pain and bearing scars. But unlike the others whose scars are hidden, Risa has etched hers onto her legs with a razor, perhaps as reminders of past troubles but most certainly to turn away the pestering men who frequent the diner. Though Sterling is intent on winning her, Risa is not at all open to his advances. She extends herself to no one except Hambone, another damaged soul whom she protects from the others, and the unseen Prophet Samuel, a Daddy Grace-style evangelist who has shown her scripture and holy attention. She proves to be one of Wilson's more inscrutable creations.

In Seven Guitars, Wilson opens the play just after the burial of Floyd Barton, the central charater in that story of hope refracted through disappointment and deceit. Two Trains Running closes with a funeral. Neither funeral is staged but both represent the second of the two trains all of us must ride -- one for life and the other for death, according to Wilson. Hambone's death is coincident with the departure of Prophet Samuel, a larger than life community figure who never appears on stage. The mechanics of the prophet's funeral consumes much of the characters' attention. Wilson's mad herald, Hambone, makes frequent appearances throughout the play, reciting his sad refrain --"He gonna give me my ham." And his sudden disappearance introduces an unsettling and foreboding air. Hambone boards death's train unceremoniously, in his sleep, having never received from life what he felt he deserved. And, as is common in Wilson's tragic world, another character's closing act of rash foolishness guarantees that he himself will be denied.