Beneathas Place

(Paperback)

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Description

Alongside Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park, Beneatha's Place imagines a life for Lorraine Hansberry's characters from A Raisin in the Sun beyond the confines of her play.

Beneatha moves from 1950s America to Lagos with her Nigerian husband and then, in the second act, set in contemporary America, has become a college Dean of Social Sciences. Through this journey, Beneathas Place challenges todays culture wars about colonial history and reckoning with the past.

This Student Edition, with an introduction and notes by Oladipo Agboluaje, offers a lens on the play's relationship to Hansberry's 1959 play and Clybourne Park; unpacks its engagement with the post-independence politics in Africa and pan-Africanism; considers how other plays to have dealt with these themes; and compares responses to the US and UK productions.

The edition includes original interviews with Kwame Kwei-Armah and actor Cherelle Skeete, who played the character of Beneatha in the UK premiere of the play.

Reviews

A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberrys landmark 1959 play, ends with its most optimistic character considering leaving the US with her Nigerian suitor, finding identity in an independent Africa. In his drama, Kwame Kwei-Armah takes Beneatha ... to Lagos only to find colonialisms enmeshed tentacles difficult to clear ... If Hansberrys play is about ownership whether Black Americans have a stake in the American dream then Kwei-Armahs concerns legacy: the persistent effects of colonialism and how Black thinkers can shape the future. * Guardian *
Kwame Kwei-Armahs highly charged play about race and the ownership of history could scarcely feel more timely. Or be more of a challenging workout for its audiences presumptions and prejudices, whatever their skin colour. * Evening Standard *

Author Bio

Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE is British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. In 2018 he was made Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre, where he has directed Twelfth Night and Tree. From 2011 to 2018 he was the Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage, where his directing credits include: Jazz, Marley, One Night in Miami, Amadeus and Dance of the Holy Ghosts. As a playwright his credits include Tree (Manchester International Festival, Young Vic), One Love (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Beneathas Place (Baltimore Center Stage, Young Vic) Elminas Kitchen, Fix Up, Statement of Regret (National Theatre), Let There Be Love and Seize the Day (Tricycle Theatre). He has also co-authored Decolonizing the Theatre Space (2023) and written the play Elmina's Kitchen.

Oladipo 'Dipo' Agboluaje is a British-Nigerian playwright and academic, born in London and educated in Britain and Nigeria. He studied Theatre Arts at the University of Benin, Nigeria, and later wrote a doctoral thesis at the Open University, UK, on West and South African drama. He won the Alfred Fagon prize for playwriting for his play Iya-lle and is a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund, working in partnership with the University of East London, UK. He has written the commentary and notes to the Methuen Drama Student Edition of Inua Ellams's Barber Shop Chronicles (Bloomsbury, 2021).