Lena Waithe Makes Stage Debut with 'Trinity,' a Powerful Exploration of Love and Consequence
- Diamond
- 14 hours ago
- 4 min read
Lena Waithe takes the stage in her first stage play, offering a raw perspective on imagination versus consequence. "Trinity" is a trifecta of love, discomfort and realness, focusing on three different relationships and their struggles with reality.
As the play opens, the primary character, A, juggles the obstacles of being in a relationship while loving someone else.
The play examines two best friends who share a mutual love for one person, driven by envy and fear, respectively. Navigating her own troubles, Waithe’s character faces her issues by writing them out, hoping for answers while avoiding the truth of where her problems stem from. She proposes a “What If” scenario that showcases reality but glitches when not truthful, leaving herself in a spiral while trying to understand herself.
In one segment of the play, character A struggles with the connection between her and her mother, learning that her scandalous ways stem from not being taught how to love properly. Feeling the need to search for other broken souls to heal herself, she realizes the love she is searching for isn't in a relationship, but rooted in her childhood. Waithe begins to understand why she loved the way she did, why she chose temptation over fear, and why her girlfriend decided to leave. Taking the time to self-reflect, Waithe takes the audience on a journey that brings realization to issues people face today in platonic and romantic relationships.
"Trinity" was directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, an artist who brought Waithe’s emotions to life. The room was filled with applause after Waithe shared an emotional ending between her and her mother. The play reminded viewers that the only thing holding you back from growth is yourself.
Post-Show Talkback
Lena Waithe and Meagan Good
Meagan Good took the stage, asking powerful questions while discussing the meaning of the play. The play was described as whimsical, but leaned into weighing the pros and cons of different situations faced in life.
Meagan Good: "What inspired the worlds of the 'What Ifs'?"
Lena Waithe: “I think that comes up in conversations when talking to people. What if I never did this or that… Those scenarios you can play out in your head, or make a guess. But 'What Ifs' are things you can play with but never can be real.”
Meagan Good: "One of the things you said in the play is, 'My fear is that she won’t love me, then you said my no, fear is that she will love me no matter what.' What were you thinking when you wrote that?"
Lena Waithe: “That’s a crazy one to write, to think, to say. I think it’s a fear and a huge uncomfortable feeling I have with someone loving me unconditionally. Because it means I have to rise to the occasion. That means that kind of love is not to be taken for granted, it’s not to be taken advantage of, and in some ways can feel like a burden. Because to violate that kind of love seems like you’re saying I deserve to be punished.”
Waithe talked about the reflection of her character, saying she doesn't do regrets, but the transgressions led her to the end of the play. Waithe elaborated, stating her character was facing issues but didn't take pity on her journey to revelation. The revelation only made things clearer regarding what she needed for herself to grow, heal and move forward.
One takeaway was the shadow work Waithe incorporated into the play.
Meagan Good: “Would you say that is shadow work? When you go to therapy and look back at things from your childhood and realize this is the reason for this or that?”
Lena Waithe: “Yes. You’re actually the first person to bring that up because we were working through that in the different workshops. One thing about shadows, you want to keep them there. But it’s so interesting because now I see so much through the lens of how you show up for platonic relationships, and how you show up for romantic relationships, are a direct reflection on how you were raised—and that is not to blame or shame your parents.”
Lastly, Waithe turned some of the questioning over to the crowd. One guest from Baltimore asked the Emmy winner why she decided to choose Baltimore as her premiere location.
Lena Waithe: “Why not? Also, the director of the play wanted to introduce the play at his home theater. So this was very special to the both of us, and an honor to be here.”
Another question was about the correlation in the play between death and the baby.
Lena Waithe: “Death and babies are consequential. They will always be here. When someone is gone, you can create your own narrative around it.”
In the end, Waithe revealed that she is childless by choice. She says, “There’s a desire to have a baby, but do you really want to do it? Something she doesn’t have a desire to do.”
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