A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

This Bitter Earth

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2m

Harrison David Rivers

Intimate, romantic and devastating, this gripping new play about a young black writer and his white lover, a Black Lives Matter activist, asks, "What is the real cost of standing on the sidelines?"

This Bitter Earth

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

At the Million Hoodie March in 2012, Jesse, a young black man, encounters Neil, a young white man who has unwittingly found himself at the front of the crowd with a megaphone in his hand. Flash forward several weeks, and Jesse and Neil have begun dating. But as the months pass and Neill works his way further into the world of activism, Jesse never enters it. Over the years, Jesse and Neil negotiate the complex “firsts” of their relationship against a backdrop of political demonstrations and discord. With history unfolding around them every day, Jesse and Neil must contend with the fact that, no matter their response to social turmoil, they cannot remain untouched by it.

History
This Bitter Earth was originally commissioned and produced at The New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco, CA, from September 22-October 22, 2017.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups

(2m)

JESSE HOWARD – Late 20s-early 30s. Hyper-aware of his body – not in a productive way. Serious, passionate, black. He wields his wit like a weapon. A playwright.
NEIL FINLEY-DARDEN – Late 20s-early 30s. Disarmingly beautiful and completely unaware. Compassionate, privileged, white. He means well. An enthusiast.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting New York City, NY and St. Paul, MN. March 21, 2012 – December 15, 2015.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration 90 minutes

Media

“A work of uncommon depth, nuance, and emotional impact.” – The Bay Area Reporter

“Easily one of the best plays of 2018… a beautiful, painful, tender play about a gay couple, one black and one white, who find themselves both in love and at odds because of politics.” – Chicago Onstage

“A lusty, delirious, time-suspending and pulse-pounding journey. It is also – as intimated by the title – both a vigil that is being kept for hope and ‘chronicle of a death foretold.’” – DC Theatre Scene

“An intense, analytical journey to the intersection of race and politics… evidencing a talented writer with a poet’s touch and a fast-beating heart. It homes with unusual alacrity on one of the central dilemmas faced by activists: How to deal with those who refuse to partake, especially when that means people with whom you are sharing a bed?” – Chicago Tribune

“Compassionate and devastating… equal parts searing and touching, gut-wrenching and romantic… challenges the complacency of even the most supposedly ‘woke’ of audience members… This Bitter Earth is a must-see in 2018.” – Chicago Theater Beat

“A play for today. Filled with nuance… stunningly smart and memorable.” – Chicago Theatre Review


Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Harrison David Rivers

Harrison David Rivers

Harrison David Rivers is an award-winning playwright, librettist and television writer based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His works include the bandaged place (Roundabout, NYSF), This Bitter Earth (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, White Bear Theatre, Seattle Public, TheatreWorks Hart ...

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