Feeding Beatrice

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Cast Size

2w, 2m
Duration

120 minutes (2 hours)
Subgenre

Mystery/Thriller
Target Audience

Adult

Details

Summary

It starts with the sound of a spoon scraping against glass and the wet noise of lips smacking together. June and Lurie have a haunting new houseguest – and she’s ravenously hungry. They do their best to keep her fed and happy, but Beatrice always demands more. As she burrows deeper and deeper into their lives, the couple faces a horrific question: What will it cost to exorcise Beatrice forever?

Kirsten Greenidge's spine-chilling gothic tale, about a contemporary Black couple haunted by the ghost of a young white girl, deftly explores questions of race, class and the American Dream.

History

Feeding Beatrice premiered in October 2019 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Directed by Daniel Bryant, the production featured Lorene Chesley, Nathan James, Ronald Emile and Allison Winn. Feeding Beatrice: A Gothic Tale was first presented as a stage reading during the University of Iowa’s New Works Festival at the University of Iowa in May 2000. It was also presented as a staged reading during the Boston Women On Top Festival in March 2001. It was awarded the Richard Maibaum Award by the University of Iowa in May 2000, as well as second place for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival’s Lorraine Hansberry Award, and second place for the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival’s Mark David Cohen Award.

Cast Attributes

Role(s) for Black Actor(s)

Keywords

Performing Groups

JUNE WALKER – A home owner in her mid-thirties, Lurie’s wife. Black.
LURIE WALKER – A home owner in his mid-thirties, June’s husband. Black.
LEROY WALKER – Lurie’s younger brother, in his early to mid-thirties. Black.
BEATRICE – A young guest. White.

Time Period Contemporary, Present Day, New Millennium/21st Century
Setting An old house in need of repair in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. The present.
Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
Additional Features No Intermission
Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
Cautions
- Strong Language
- Mild Adult Themes

Media

“A piercing, graphic and haunting illustration of one couple’s attempt to assimilate and achieve their idea of the American dream at all costs.” – St. Louis American

“Fascinatingly offbeat... Greenidge succeeds in weaving a tapestry that’s as hilarious as it is haunting... it’s unquestionably a captivating experience.” – Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"An arresting and thought-provoking ghost story filled with the specter of racism as well as the supernatural.” – Mark Bretz, Ladue News

“This play is a thought-provoking, sobering, but often times laugh-out-loud gothic tale, smartly crafted to work on many complex intellectual levels. Its haunting metaphors explore racism, classism, and the cleanliness/dirtiness of the American Dream.” – Tanya Seale, Broadway World St. Louis

“The play is a piercing, graphic and haunting illustration of one couple’s attempt to assimilate and achieve their idea of the American dream at all costs.” – Kenya Vaughn, St. Louis American

“Plenty of cringe-inducing twists and gripping, edge-of-your-seat moments.” – Richard T. Green, Talkin' Broadway

“Inventive and new.” – Michelle Kenyon, Snoop's Theatre Thoughts

Videos

Feeding Beatrice - Repertory Theatre of St. Louis Trailer
Feeding Beatrice - Geva Theatre Center Trailer
Feeding Beatrice - First Look (Repertory)

Licensing & Materials

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Ticketing

Authors

Kirsten Greenidge

Kirsten Greenidge has had commissions from Magic Theatre, McCarter Theatre and Guthrie Theatre. Her play Sans-Culottes in the Promised Land was produced at the 2004 Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. The play has also been at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mad ...

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Feeding Beatrice