Slave Play

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Slave Play

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  4w, 4m

Nominated for a record twelve 2020 Tony Awards, Slave Play rips apart history to shed new light on the nexus of race, gender and sexuality in 21st century America.

Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • Nominee: A record TWELVE 2020 Tony Awards, including Best Play!
    Nominee: 2020 Drama League Award, Outstanding Production of a Play
    Nominee: 2020 GLAAD Media Award, Outstanding Broadway Production
    Nominee: 2019 Lucille Lortel Award, Best Play
Slave Play

Details

Summary
The Old South lives on at the MacGregor Plantation—in the breeze, in the cotton fields… and in the crack of the whip. Nothing is as it seems, and yet everything is as it seems. Slave Play rips apart history to shed new light on the nexus of race, gender and sexuality in 21st century America.
History
Written during Jeremy O. Harris's first year at Yale Drama School, Slave Play premiered off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on November 19, 2018, in a production directed by Robert O'Hara. On October 6, 2019, Slave Play opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre, again under the direction of O'Hara.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

KANEISHA – 28, a dark, black woman unafraid of what she knows she wants.
JIM – 35, a white man and inheritor of more than he knows how to handle.
PHILLIP – 30, a mulatto who still has to learn his color.
ALANA – 36, a white woman who wants more than the world sees fit to give her.
DUSTIN – 28, a white man but the lowest type of white -- dingy, an off-white.
GARY – 27, a dark, black man whose life has been lived with the full trauma of his color.
TEÁ – 26, a mulatto who is studied in her black and her white.
PATRICIA – 30, a light brown woman who knows many lives.

  • Time Period Present Day, 19th Century
  • Setting MacGregor Plantation, a few miles south of Richmond, Virginia.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes

Media

“The single most daring thing I’ve seen in theater in a long time.” – The New York Times

“A funny, scalding walk along the boundary between black and white in America. A fascinating explosive-device of a play.” – Peter Marks, The Washington Post

“There is nothing like Slave Play on Broadway. This is a radical moment in theater.” – Tim Teeman, The Daily Beast

Slave Play is the single most daring thing I’ve seen in a theater in a long time.” – Wesley Morris, The New York Times

“Wisdom and timeliness ripple through Slave Play. This play is lit.” – Soraya Nadia McDonald, The Undefeated

“A dazzling mix of satire and psychodrama.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times

“Brash, smart and gleefully confrontational, this is the kind of show that starts arguments.” – Adam Feldman, Time Out

“The most radical Broadway play in years. It is a shot across the bow of the Great White way.” – Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“A ballsy, often ferociously funny original work.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

“Uncomfortably funny and gruesomely sexy. Should you laugh or keep quiet? You can’t know until the ordeal is done—and even then, the uncertainty may linger for days.” – Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker

Videos

  • Theatremania: Why Slave Play Will Get You Talking youtube thumbnail

    Theatremania: Why Slave Play Will Get You Talking

  • Jeremy O. Harris and Ato Blankson-Wood Discuss Slave Play youtube thumbnail

    Jeremy O. Harris and Ato Blankson-Wood Discuss Slave Play

  • ABC Spotlight on Broadway's Slave Play youtube thumbnail

    ABC Spotlight on Broadway's Slave Play

  • Aisha Harris interviews Jeremy O. Harris youtube thumbnail

    Aisha Harris interviews Jeremy O. Harris

Photos

  • Slave Play

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Slave Play

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Slave Play

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Slave Play

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
    Performance rights for this show are currently heavily restricted in the UK and Ireland. Please submit a licence request to determine availability

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Jeremy O. Harris

Jeremy O. Harris is the playwright and creator of the most Tony-nominated Broadway play ever, Slave Play (Golden Theatre - Broadway, New York Theatre Workshop, NYT Critics Pick, Winner of the 2018 Kennedy Center Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting ...

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