U.S. filmmaker Spike Lee once made the ass-of-the year statement when he stated that only a black man could have succeeded at producing Malcolm X. I’d love to see the expression on his face after being introduced to the playwright that’s given us Belle, a poignant expedition of the human spirit in post-slavery America.

Florence Gibson is about as white as they come. The author’s innate ability to transcend colour and culture through a subtext driven narrative is nothing less than remarkable.

She etches a poetic language of her own that gives the play stupendous warmth in places where light can barely reach. The final product is a powerful and provocative work of lasting importance.

Belle is the story of two former slaves who venture North for greener pastures to Shantytown, New York where political maneuvering is the practice of the day. The serpentine plot involves Belle who wants to return to the South the moment she arrives and her proud husband Bowlyn, whose aspirations of a horse and buggy business turn unexpectedly sour. They soon find out the North is not the promised land they had envisioned.

Drawn by the political agenda of Lackey, Bowlyn steps forward to secure the right to vote. Nance lures Belle with hope that women will also one day have a voice at the polls. Husband and wife are inevitably sold down the river at the expense of “universal manhood suffrage”

Yana McIntosh is angelic in her role as Belle, a woman on the look out for number one (her baby). Nigel Shawn Williams’ portrayal of Bowlyn demands compassion in every wrong turn he takes. Williams lends his character a born loser quality that’s both forceful and augmented.

Alex Poch-Goldin’s Lackey is the best thing going for the production. The character’s political ideals, bent as they may be, are polished by Poch-Goldin’s flare for personifying deceit and ignorance. In a tour-de-force performance as Nance, Soo Garay is superbly elegant in a role that traps Bowlyn in her enticing web. As a manipulative temptress, she’s imperious, flirtatious, and striking to look at.

Opening, closing and making a one-time spiritual presence in the show is Karen Robinson as Althea. She gets much of Florence Gibson’s prose to play with and provides the production with momentous musical notes.

Ken Gass didn’t risk what he built on the first time Belle was staged at Factory Theatre. The director returns with virtually the same cast as he showcased in 2000. His “if-it’s-not-broke-don’t-fix-it” approach not only guarantees him the kudos he received the first time around, but strengthens the show with actors that have two more years perspective of the text they’re dealing with.