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Berkeley's West Indies theater company ends a run today at the Eighth Street Studio Theater of Laurence Holder's two-character play “When the Chickens Came Home to Roost” – a story about the complex relationship between black activist leader Malcolm X and his Nation of Islam superior Elijah Muhammad. 

Running about an hour with no intermission, and performed by two recent Berkeley High School graduates, “When the Chickens Came Home to Roost” is set in late 1963, about a year and a half before the assassination of Malcolm X, whom it has been often rumored was killed on orders from Elijah Muhammad.  

In 1963, Malcolm X was a top subordinate to Elijah Muhammad in the Nation of Islam, and a rising star in the organization – a man whose personal appearances and radio speeches drew large audiences and attracted many people to the organization. 

At the opening of the play, Malcolm X (Sean Slater) arrives at the home of Elijah Muhammad (Daveed Diggs) to talk about paternity suits that have been filed against Elijah Muhammad by women who were former employees of the Nation of Islam. 

Although Elijah Muhammad does not want to discuss this issue, Malcolm X presses. He argues that Nation of Islam followers need an honest response to the problem, to keep the group's moral integrity high at a difficult time. According to the play, this contradicts Elijah Muhammad's style, which has been one of silence and stonewalling. 

As the play evolves, the differences in style, belief and relationship behaviors between the two men emerge. 

Malcolm X, it turns out, has many criticisms of Elijah Muhammad's autocratic leadership. Malcolm X, for example, wants more linkage between the Nation of Islam and the emerging 1963 civil rights movement than the isolationist Elijah Muhammad permits. 

At the same time, Malcolm X appreciates the work of Elijah Muhammad, regards Elijah Muhammad as having saved his life, and submits obediently, if reluctantly, to his orders. 

Elijah Muhammad reminds Malcolm X, “This is not a democracy. This is the Nation of Islam.” 

So one of the play's themes deals with the issue of autocratic power in the hands of a man whose work and vision has transformed the lives of many people. The play asks, to what extent is this autocratic power appropriate? When, rather, is it appropriate for people to speak their own minds? 

In this play, Elijah Muhammad sees the interaction with Malcolm X as a cat and mouse game between himself and a young upstart who is trying to usurp the organization. 

Malcolm X swears that it is not so. He swears obedience to Elijah Muhammad and the organization repeatedly. The ambiguity around this issue gives the play much of its drama. 

After the assassination of President Kennedy, which takes place during the course of the play, Elijah Muhammad instructs his mosque leaders not to speak with their congregations about the president's death. 

But Malcolm X has a hard time refraining from observations about violence in America and how the chickens are coming home to roost. 

West Indies has staged a good production of the play with a youthful cast. Slater's thoughtful performance captures the look and feel of Malcolm X X.  

Teenager Diggs is a little young to be playing the elderly Elijah Muhammad, but also turns in a creditable performance that has multiple layers. Two actors also self-directed the play. 

Less than year and a half after the 1963 time frame of this play, Malcolm X X was assassinated. There has been much speculation since then on who called the hit. 

“When the Chickens Came Home to Roost” runs one more weekend, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., through July 15, at Eighth Street Studio Theater, 2525 Eighth Street, Berkeley. $8 general, $5 students. For information, call 510-547-7884.