Slave Play

Conceived by Jeremy O. Harris, an upcoming playwright from the Yale School of Drama, Slave Play is a bold look at ‘black identity’ and how it has influenced the cultural development of the United States. With director Robert O’Hara at the helm, there is little doubt that the show will be an uncomfortable, albeit thoroughly entertaining, rollercoaster ride of carefully placed plot twists and provocative dialogue. In an age where debates about race and sex seem to be taking a turn for the worse, Slave Play relentlessly jerks its audience back to the reality of racial discrimination with shocking scenes and flawless acting. The actors themselves are fearless in their depiction of strikingly provocative scenes. Coupled with incredible set design by Clint Ramos and music by Lindsay Jones, Slave Play pulls out all the stops and presents a thought-provoking picture of discrimination and cultural identity.

The Story

The play opens in a setting that seems to be taken straight out of one of the southern states in America before slavery was abolished. Kaneisha is a slave who is forced to submit to her white overseer Jim. While Kaneisha constantly reminds Jim of his role as her ‘master’, Jim seems to be unwilling to assume the title, although he holds the whip. As the play progresses, their sexual relationship develops with a strange amalgam of lust and fear. In the first act, there are two other couples in similar relationships. The viewers are constantly reminded that the white people in each of these couples carry the whip.

Spoiler Alert:
As Act 1 ends, it soon becomes apparent that the play is not set in the south at all. It is set in modern-day America, and the three couples are attempting to reignite their sexual lives by attending a radical therapy designed to help black partners rediscover their intimacy with white partners. The entire performance is dotted with ingenious parallels between modern America and the era of slavery.

Good For

Lovers of Reflective Dramas | Adult Audiences | Social Activists

Critic Reviews

“The antebellum South gets drawn painfully into the present in this daring and ferocious look at how racism warps intimacy.”

• Vox

“Slave Play blends the terrifying and the tantalizing!”

• New York Vulture