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Slave Play
“The single most daring thing I’ve seen in a theater in a long time.” — Wesley Morris, New York Times
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 twenty-first-century America.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 371 reviews
February 24, 2020
This is quite a play—irreverent, blasphemous really, but also deeply intelligent. It will make you uncomfortable but that’s a good thing. The second act could be trimmed. I don’t think the anhedonia of the black partners is as explored as it could be. I wanted the raison d’etre of the story to be stronger. Still, this is pretty brilliant. It “goes there,” over and over again both boldly and slyly. An excellent read and even better on stage.
October 2, 2021
Update: 10/21: Having just reread 2021 Tony Best Play winner The Inheritance, I felt it only fair to reread its stiffest (no double entendre intended) competition also, and see which I preferred. Going strictly by the scripts, since I saw neither actual production, I'd say Tony voters got it right - although a second reading of this did not irk me as much as on the first go-round.
I still think the second act is problematic, and am not QUITE sure if the two therapists are intended to be as ridiculous as they came off to me. That third act is also something of a quandary, and what a brutal scene for the two actors to do 8 times a week ... I wish they'd film the Broadway production to make it available to a wider audience, since I doubt many theatre companies are going to be brave enough to mount (no double entendre again!) it.
Original review:
3.5, rounded up.
The most controversial play in quite some time almost lives up to the hype, but there is, unfortunately, a great divide between intention and execution. The entire conceit of the play is brilliant, and several of the set pieces, and indeed, most of the first act live up to expectations. But once the veil is lifted in the second act (that is, that the 'role playing' in each of the three scenes in the first act is part of a retreat for mixed race couples experiencing sexual dysfunction), and one realizes exactly what is going on, the same tropes are just repeated over and over and over again, and it descends into psychobabble that gets rather irritating. I'd still love to see a production sometime, primarily to see if the humor actually plays, or is smothered by the uncomfortableness of the subject matter.
I still think the second act is problematic, and am not QUITE sure if the two therapists are intended to be as ridiculous as they came off to me. That third act is also something of a quandary, and what a brutal scene for the two actors to do 8 times a week ... I wish they'd film the Broadway production to make it available to a wider audience, since I doubt many theatre companies are going to be brave enough to mount (no double entendre again!) it.
Original review:
3.5, rounded up.
The most controversial play in quite some time almost lives up to the hype, but there is, unfortunately, a great divide between intention and execution. The entire conceit of the play is brilliant, and several of the set pieces, and indeed, most of the first act live up to expectations. But once the veil is lifted in the second act (that is, that the 'role playing' in each of the three scenes in the first act is part of a retreat for mixed race couples experiencing sexual dysfunction), and one realizes exactly what is going on, the same tropes are just repeated over and over and over again, and it descends into psychobabble that gets rather irritating. I'd still love to see a production sometime, primarily to see if the humor actually plays, or is smothered by the uncomfortableness of the subject matter.
September 29, 2025
Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy Play
A review of the Theatre Communications Group paperback (February 4, 2020).
I read the play prior to seeing the 2025 Toronto production yesterday. Partially that was due to its controversial nature and in order to help decide whether I actually wanted to go see it. Although I was somewhat repulsed by the content, I was still curious enough to want to see how they would bring it off on stage.
I ended up having mixed feelings about it. I was still somewhat weirded out by the fantasy roleplays of Act 1, but there were enough hints that it wasn't quite real, so you could actually laugh at parts. There was comic relief in the therapy encounters of Act 2 which are mostly played for laughs, but which still ended with a few traumatic speeches. Then there was a further weirding out by the non-fantasy? assault of Act 3 but which ends incongruously in tears of laughter. The back and forth between trauma and comedy makes for a compromise 3 star rating.
Curtain call at the end of the 2025 Canadian Stage production in Toronto. Image from own photo.
Soundtrack
Reading the music cues in the playscript made me imagine they would go on for extended periods. They were actually extremely brief and lasted only several seconds each. There was the "work, work, work, work, work, work" refrain from Rihanna's Work. A few notes of Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 132 followed by a brief pizzicato folky melody picked out on the violin. There is a snippet of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Multi-Love.
Trivia and Links
See the programme book for the 2025 Canadian Stage production here and a Slave Play Resources zine here.
There was a documentary film made for HBO Max about the original Broadway production called Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play (2024) dir. Jeremy O. Harris and you can see the trailer on YouTube here.
A review of the Theatre Communications Group paperback (February 4, 2020).
Welcome to Slave Play, a sharp, provocative, and wildly entertaining theatrical sensation that has sparked conversations from Broadway to London. Now making its Canadian premiere, this electrifying play by Jeremy O. Harris turns up the heat on love, race, and relationships in ways that are bold, unexpected, and impossible to forget.
A daring, seductive, and razor-sharp satire, Slave Play takes audiences on a journey where pleasure and history meet, flipping assumptions and igniting sparks along the way. It’s a show that’s as playfully cheeky as it is thought-provoking, designed to make you feel, think, and maybe even blush. - a promotional note about the 2025 Canadian Stage production.
I read the play prior to seeing the 2025 Toronto production yesterday. Partially that was due to its controversial nature and in order to help decide whether I actually wanted to go see it. Although I was somewhat repulsed by the content, I was still curious enough to want to see how they would bring it off on stage.
I ended up having mixed feelings about it. I was still somewhat weirded out by the fantasy roleplays of Act 1, but there were enough hints that it wasn't quite real, so you could actually laugh at parts. There was comic relief in the therapy encounters of Act 2 which are mostly played for laughs, but which still ended with a few traumatic speeches. Then there was a further weirding out by the non-fantasy? assault of Act 3 but which ends incongruously in tears of laughter. The back and forth between trauma and comedy makes for a compromise 3 star rating.
Curtain call at the end of the 2025 Canadian Stage production in Toronto. Image from own photo.
Soundtrack
Reading the music cues in the playscript made me imagine they would go on for extended periods. They were actually extremely brief and lasted only several seconds each. There was the "work, work, work, work, work, work" refrain from Rihanna's Work. A few notes of Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 132 followed by a brief pizzicato folky melody picked out on the violin. There is a snippet of Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Multi-Love.
Trivia and Links
See the programme book for the 2025 Canadian Stage production here and a Slave Play Resources zine here.
There was a documentary film made for HBO Max about the original Broadway production called Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play (2024) dir. Jeremy O. Harris and you can see the trailer on YouTube here.
September 20, 2025
What in the Get Out is happening here??
February 23, 2022
I mean...
(squirms)
Ummmm...
(clears throat)
What
did
I just
read.
Brilliant. Third act is confusing and weaker to me. The turn is maybe the best turn ever in theater history. Wow.
Opens here in Los Angeles next week. Will be very interesting. I wonder how many people will walk out, not knowing what's in store. Prepare to be the most uncomfortable you've ever been in a theater LA peeps.
----
UPDATE:
Went to see it. Much less shocking to see it than read it which was odd. But I realized what I read on the page, where little was given away, perhaps because of my poor reading??, was given away a lot more in this production. That was disappointing.
Also the 3rd act was not confusing AT ALL in the theater. It was the best part. It was the second act, that on seeing it, should be cut cut cut.
...Listen to me. This is a monumental play and I'm giving notes. But that's what we do on GR lol. Oy vey.
(squirms)
Ummmm...
(clears throat)
What
did
I just
read.
Brilliant. Third act is confusing and weaker to me. The turn is maybe the best turn ever in theater history. Wow.
Opens here in Los Angeles next week. Will be very interesting. I wonder how many people will walk out, not knowing what's in store. Prepare to be the most uncomfortable you've ever been in a theater LA peeps.
----
UPDATE:
Went to see it. Much less shocking to see it than read it which was odd. But I realized what I read on the page, where little was given away, perhaps because of my poor reading??, was given away a lot more in this production. That was disappointing.
Also the 3rd act was not confusing AT ALL in the theater. It was the best part. It was the second act, that on seeing it, should be cut cut cut.
...Listen to me. This is a monumental play and I'm giving notes. But that's what we do on GR lol. Oy vey.
July 6, 2019
I’ll be processing this for some time, I think.
December 30, 2020
I almost forgot that I read this at the beginning of the month, during a shift at the independent bookstore I work at part-time. I breezed through Slave Play in about an hour, and upon closing it wondered what in the entire f*ck I just read. But after some time, contemplation, and venting to my friends about how ridiculous this play was, I finally realized that it frustrated me because it wasn't meant for me. Reading a bit of backstory on Jeremy O. Harris, this play was inspired by events of his own life. He found himself infatuated with white men, and in relationships with them, as do many gay black men — with little interrogation of this preference (and the reason why he doesn't find himself as attracted to black men). I'm someone who has never found themselves in this predicament, and am often irritated and unsettled by those who do. And so I do believe that Slave Play does serve a purpose, beyond it's shock value, readers and viewers who do find themselves in interracial relationships should leave this theater (or close the book) asking themselves if the racial dynamics in this relationship are healthy. Where I feel this play fails is the absence of a Black man and white woman coupling (I do believe this to be intentional, but the fact is that if you're going to tackle this topics this should be included), and a closer look at the queer male couple in the scenario. I would have thought that Jeremy O. Harris himself would have given a bit more focus to this couple since it would appear to be what he most relates to. But, the focus lies on the Black woman and white man, which feels like a bit of a cop out...and then we are left with a sort of cliffhanger at the end. Slave Play is interesting to say the least, but is it...good? I don't know.
October 26, 2023
Bigly Spoiler Alert:
SLAVE PLAY really took me back to David Cronenberg's 1969 curio STEREO, an hour-long compilation of scenes from a fake psychological study. As I recall, it was shown only once, projected on a wall during some public event. Unsuspecting passersby stopped to check it out, initially intrigued by the sterile visuals, psuedo-academic voice-over, and bizarre interaction of the 'subjects' of the 'experiment,' ...then kept walking when the scenes remained inexplicable, as the presumably chortling filmmakers looked on from nearby.
A lot of SLAVE PLAY feels like STEREO, particularly the looong Act II group therapy session run by a pair of academics who likewise seem drawn from the Cronenberg pantheon of creepy, manipulative quacks. Only this play isn't cold and clinical. It's a throbbing, teeth-gnashing, cum-splattered primal scream of racism, sexism, classism, wokeism, and any other dang hang-up about modern life you and your partner might be repressing right now-- and not even know it!!
In short, a wild read, which I really enjoyed in the privacy of my own home. Would I want to see actors actually do it, in a theater full of total strangers? Uh, I'll have to get back to you on that.
July 3, 2020
You should not work to make the audience comfortable with what they are witnessing at all.
And so opens Jeremy O. Harris’ play—the “controversial” play on Broadway, and for good reason. But the actors must feel a sense of discomfort from reciting these lines and performing these actions; it would be strange not to feel uneasy. It’s hard to talk about this play without spoiling too much. It’s perhaps best to go in blind and be caught totally off guard, the floor removed beneath your feet, leaving you stunned—and maybe in shock.
There are moments in here meant to titillate, confuse, provoke, anger, surprise, and discomfort the viewer. Did I understand everything I read? No. Did I enjoy everything I read? Not really. But boy, was it a wild, wild ride. I read the entirety in one sitting, as I just couldn’t put it down. I laughed out loud, but also couldn’t believe what I was reading. And considering the extremely polarized reaction to the play, both from critics and the general public/viewing audience, that’s the intention.
Yet, I’m not entirely sure of Harris’ goals with this play. The ending is not satisfying nor is it particularly illuminating. Many find it offensive and disrespectful. Maybe that’s the point? Others say it’s exploitative of pain, of shock, and I am tempted to agree. If anything, Slave Play is difficult. Difficult to watch at times, difficult to process... offensive, insane. I don’t know anymore. But it’s worth a read, no doubt about it.
And so opens Jeremy O. Harris’ play—the “controversial” play on Broadway, and for good reason. But the actors must feel a sense of discomfort from reciting these lines and performing these actions; it would be strange not to feel uneasy. It’s hard to talk about this play without spoiling too much. It’s perhaps best to go in blind and be caught totally off guard, the floor removed beneath your feet, leaving you stunned—and maybe in shock.
There are moments in here meant to titillate, confuse, provoke, anger, surprise, and discomfort the viewer. Did I understand everything I read? No. Did I enjoy everything I read? Not really. But boy, was it a wild, wild ride. I read the entirety in one sitting, as I just couldn’t put it down. I laughed out loud, but also couldn’t believe what I was reading. And considering the extremely polarized reaction to the play, both from critics and the general public/viewing audience, that’s the intention.
Yet, I’m not entirely sure of Harris’ goals with this play. The ending is not satisfying nor is it particularly illuminating. Many find it offensive and disrespectful. Maybe that’s the point? Others say it’s exploitative of pain, of shock, and I am tempted to agree. If anything, Slave Play is difficult. Difficult to watch at times, difficult to process... offensive, insane. I don’t know anymore. But it’s worth a read, no doubt about it.
August 29, 2020
CW: rape, sexual assault, racial trauma
In Slave Play, three interracial couples undergo “Antebellum Sexual Therapy,” that is, visceral re-enactments of plantation rape. Why? The Black partners no longer feel attracted toward their white partners, and somehow, AST will rectify this dysfunction. As I still remind myself now, this is supposed to be satire.
I knew not a thing about Slave Play. So, I plunged into the first three scenes and read what I could only see as the most shocking, graphic, and (for the most part) historically plausible re-enactments of antebellum rape and sexual coercion.
I understand that “plays are meant to be viewed, not read.” And actors’ interpretations along with directorial choices could potentially imbue these scenes with implied consent — wait let’s stop there. Consent must be explicit. And the absence of explicit consent at the beginning of Slave Play is a terrifying misfire on Harris’ part.
Full review at: https://link.medium.com/JphUP79Xk9
In Slave Play, three interracial couples undergo “Antebellum Sexual Therapy,” that is, visceral re-enactments of plantation rape. Why? The Black partners no longer feel attracted toward their white partners, and somehow, AST will rectify this dysfunction. As I still remind myself now, this is supposed to be satire.
I knew not a thing about Slave Play. So, I plunged into the first three scenes and read what I could only see as the most shocking, graphic, and (for the most part) historically plausible re-enactments of antebellum rape and sexual coercion.
I understand that “plays are meant to be viewed, not read.” And actors’ interpretations along with directorial choices could potentially imbue these scenes with implied consent — wait let’s stop there. Consent must be explicit. And the absence of explicit consent at the beginning of Slave Play is a terrifying misfire on Harris’ part.
Full review at: https://link.medium.com/JphUP79Xk9
February 18, 2022
Okay WHAT?? WHAAAAT?! I need three moments to digest this. All I know for sure is that I need to see this on the stage (and be totally uncomfortable the entire time). I also need to see how on Earth they’re able to recreate some of these scenes (I’m looking right at you, Act 1). Imma need some of you to read this batshit crazy play so we can discuss this madness.
This took guts.
More to come.
This took guts.
More to come.
July 2, 2019
whoa whoa whoa. insanely exciting new work. rich with loaded psychosexual & racial dynamics.
January 18, 2022
Play number two! Also in in its way extremely fucked up and excellent satire of hyper liberal language and politics. I hope it doesn't just wash over audience members who didn't go to “elite institutions” cuz the dialogue and vibe of certain characters whom i shall not name is incredibly accurate. Also great on the level of interrogating the value of technical round about solutions to problems that really just require someone with power, acknowledging and giving up some of that power. sorry to be vague but i dont wanna spoil too much of this totally awesome gonzo play!!
I would say of all the couples presented one gets sorta short shrift-ed and one is very clearly central, but the short shrift-ing isn’t that bad and the central couple is handled so deftly I’m in god dang awe.
anyway this guys brilliants and i also liked the zola movie he wrote. nice job jeremy!
I would say of all the couples presented one gets sorta short shrift-ed and one is very clearly central, but the short shrift-ing isn’t that bad and the central couple is handled so deftly I’m in god dang awe.
anyway this guys brilliants and i also liked the zola movie he wrote. nice job jeremy!
July 10, 2020
The reverberations of “Slave Play” made it across the country to California where I heard about it. I didn’t know exactly what to expect but I heard the play described as “shocking.” The show closed earlier this year with celebrities flocking to the final performances. I was intrigued and knew I had to check it out. I can’t describe the play without giving much away, so I won’t. I will just describe the show as an intense, funny, though-provoking look at race. If you like reading plays, this is a good one to check out, it’s almost poetic in structure. If you want to be surprised, I would recommend waiting to see a performance. I know I can’t wait to see a live staging of this show someday. ★★★★★ ◊ Trade Paperback ◊ Play ◊ Purchased online. ◾︎
February 7, 2021
"when they brought us ova-
y'all did
try to tear it way from us.
The truth of our bodies?
The way they moved
Our bodies.
Told us it
was
devilish
Our bodies
told us that it won't
fit
for civ'lized eyes . . ."
y'all did
try to tear it way from us.
The truth of our bodies?
The way they moved
Our bodies.
Told us it
was
devilish
Our bodies
told us that it won't
fit
for civ'lized eyes . . ."
July 8, 2020
Absolutely not.
December 13, 2020
Jeremy can set my brain on fire any day. Impeccable, ingenious — from the mind of a new god. Sheesh.
December 11, 2024
slave play is disconcerting, evocative, surprising. so full of symbolism and teeming with extremely smart commentary about race in america. a difficult read, but ultimately a very good one.
March 15, 2021
“Slave Play is funny, probing and, at times, disturbingly sexy... it asks a lot of its spectators, and has a lot to give in return”
June 14, 2021
So I have been totally buried in the Wheel of Time series since end of March. A friend of mine and I were talking about racism in America and she mentioned this play to me a few months ago. The next time I saw her, she lent me her copy and I stuck it on the pile with a "I'll read it between WoT books". And then I forgot about it and just kept jumping to new WoT. Over the past few days, while I've been reaching the end of Crown of Swords I have been thinking about taking a break. I am perfectly aware that I might not return to the good ole (maybe bad ole) WoT and happily picked up this play last night.
It is a very startling work. I knew it was about race (obvioulsy), and that there was controversy and I knew that the author was unapologetic and that there were "Karens" out in the world who were very offended. I would add for anyone thinking about reading it (or especially about going to see it) that it is very explicitly sexual and may be triggering for those who have experienced sexual assault.
All that said, it was really good. I wouldn't want to be in it (too much graphic, explicit action) and I expect that the first act would make the audience very uncomfortable. The second act is a bit full of itself (although stage notes call it a comedy). I think seeing this performed it might come across as funny and mocking (rather than pompous), but on the page the tongue-in-cheek was not always apparent.
RID feels authentic in the same way that DeGruy's work on PTSS and Dobbins and Skilling's work on racism as a clinical syndrome feels authentic (as a white woman I always hesitate label anything claiming to explain the "black experience" as authentic--how the hell would I know?). The set up is unbelievable (IRB would never approve something like this), but the argument is intuitively sound and resonates with my understanding of historical trauma.
However, it also makes me think of McWhorter and Loury's work; we need (as an entire community, not as a single race) to better understand each other and hold ALL of us to high expectations. When we change the expectations for one group or make specific allowances, we are continuing to perpetuate the power imbalance that resonates down from slavery. On one hand, those who have been oppressed need more because many ARE at a cumulative disadvantage. On the other hand, continuing to focus on the deficit does not allow us to move forward collectively as a community.
Ultimately, it is thought provoking and discussion worthy; what more do people want from plays?
It is a very startling work. I knew it was about race (obvioulsy), and that there was controversy and I knew that the author was unapologetic and that there were "Karens" out in the world who were very offended. I would add for anyone thinking about reading it (or especially about going to see it) that it is very explicitly sexual and may be triggering for those who have experienced sexual assault.
All that said, it was really good. I wouldn't want to be in it (too much graphic, explicit action) and I expect that the first act would make the audience very uncomfortable. The second act is a bit full of itself (although stage notes call it a comedy). I think seeing this performed it might come across as funny and mocking (rather than pompous), but on the page the tongue-in-cheek was not always apparent.
RID feels authentic in the same way that DeGruy's work on PTSS and Dobbins and Skilling's work on racism as a clinical syndrome feels authentic (as a white woman I always hesitate label anything claiming to explain the "black experience" as authentic--how the hell would I know?). The set up is unbelievable (IRB would never approve something like this), but the argument is intuitively sound and resonates with my understanding of historical trauma.
However, it also makes me think of McWhorter and Loury's work; we need (as an entire community, not as a single race) to better understand each other and hold ALL of us to high expectations. When we change the expectations for one group or make specific allowances, we are continuing to perpetuate the power imbalance that resonates down from slavery. On one hand, those who have been oppressed need more because many ARE at a cumulative disadvantage. On the other hand, continuing to focus on the deficit does not allow us to move forward collectively as a community.
Ultimately, it is thought provoking and discussion worthy; what more do people want from plays?
August 9, 2020
I’m not actually sure how to process ‘Slave Play’. It’s one of those texts you read and the entire way through, you’re saying out loud “he did not... no, he’s not actually going to... oh my god, he actually published this thing?”
‘Slave Play’ tells the story of three interracial couples in the antebellum South on a plantation, who are engaged in various kinds of sexual relationships. Eventually, it is revealed that the uncomfortably tense - and sometimes, inexplicably sexy - encounters between slaves and their masters, is actually part of a modern day sexual fantasy, played out by 21st interracial couples who are struggling in their sex lives.
This is a prickly, tense, risky play. But it is not sensationalistic for the point of being so. Instead, it is intensely reflective. It throws notions of ‘traumatised’ people out of the window, and shows how often - modern attempts (even by the most well intentioned of white people) at overcoming the horrors of the past can be futile and meaningless. With comedy and sexiness and sometimes, hurtful and confronting insults, it shows how the most important thing we can do - as white people - is just listen to those POC around us. That’s the best place to start. I agree with other reviewers though - the second act could definitely be trimmed, as for a few pages, it ends up reading less like a play and more like a psychology thesis.
This play asked me to reflect on myself, and my own actions, in some of the most comedic, sexy, and fucked up ways. And that my friends, is great art!
‘Slave Play’ tells the story of three interracial couples in the antebellum South on a plantation, who are engaged in various kinds of sexual relationships. Eventually, it is revealed that the uncomfortably tense - and sometimes, inexplicably sexy - encounters between slaves and their masters, is actually part of a modern day sexual fantasy, played out by 21st interracial couples who are struggling in their sex lives.
This is a prickly, tense, risky play. But it is not sensationalistic for the point of being so. Instead, it is intensely reflective. It throws notions of ‘traumatised’ people out of the window, and shows how often - modern attempts (even by the most well intentioned of white people) at overcoming the horrors of the past can be futile and meaningless. With comedy and sexiness and sometimes, hurtful and confronting insults, it shows how the most important thing we can do - as white people - is just listen to those POC around us. That’s the best place to start. I agree with other reviewers though - the second act could definitely be trimmed, as for a few pages, it ends up reading less like a play and more like a psychology thesis.
This play asked me to reflect on myself, and my own actions, in some of the most comedic, sexy, and fucked up ways. And that my friends, is great art!
January 26, 2022
i really hated this. i find it deeply offensive that the thesis seems to be that all interracial relationships have a dark undercurrent? this play is all shock value and pop culture references. these characters aren’t people, but they also aren’t even mouthpieces for ideas. i have no idea what any of them actually want or who they are. more than anything else, it’s just really poorly written and i wish we would stop pretending that it isn’t.
June 18, 2020
What a trip.
Read
October 19, 2020........I don't know.
November 13, 2020
"God bless the Black women doing the emotional labor." - Ziwe Fumudoh to Jeremy O. Harris on her Instagram Live show
Read
October 3, 2022Absolutely no idea how I feel about this beyond "I hope to God that they had the best intimacy director in the industry".
December 30, 2021
Just saw this performed on Broadway, then read the script. It was both hilarious and the most incredibly uncomfortable thing I've ever seen. The ending brings up a LOT of questions about Kaneisha (the main black woman)'s inner thoughts, which are never really answered, definitely not by Jeremy or the cast, but I also haven't found any solid hypotheses by critics. It was written during Jeremy's MFA at Yale and he rewrote it to appease professors, but the original actor who played Kaneisha (whom I saw perform the role) insisted it stay as written.
Some resources:
Article written by the author prior to the play: https://www.vice.com/en/article/8qgm9...
Discussions with the current cast/staff (e.g. the intimacy/fight coordinator) here: https://artsaction.slaveplaybroadway....
Some resources:
Article written by the author prior to the play: https://www.vice.com/en/article/8qgm9...
Discussions with the current cast/staff (e.g. the intimacy/fight coordinator) here: https://artsaction.slaveplaybroadway....
Read
September 16, 2025very uncomfortable!!!! i dont know what to say!!!!!!!! i am disturbed and uncomfortable!!!!!!!!!! i dont think i should be allowed to give this a star rating lmfao idk im so uncomfortable!!!!!!
September 19, 2024
Doesnt translate as well on the page but still so so good
December 18, 2020
I vibe like the three couples are three very distinct stories about racism. The premise of participating in “slave play” seems a bit questionable, but sex is very much influenced by power dynamics and the perverse nature of slave play definitely grabs the attention so I’m not against it, though as someone who isn’t black, I don’t experience the strong racial traumas that might make such subject matter distasteful. I also feel that slave play forcibly reveals the underlying racism that exists in these mixed race relationships, forcing said racism to be confronted.
Jim and Kaneisha: Jim doesn’t know he’s a racist, Kaneisha does at the back of her head. I was taking some notes because iBooks allows that and he mistakes a cantaloupe for a watermelon once but doesn’t seem to recognise that he’s being racist? I think Kaneisha was attracted to him because she felt that a mixed race couple where the white man was so incredibly stereotypically white would be really subversive, but she eventually realised that their relationship remained rather problematic and racist? Something about Jim policing her sexuality by not wishing to participate in Slave Play whilst pretending that he isn’t racist by acting all high and mighty. On a more personal note, I liked Kaneisha’s intelligence.
Dustin and Gary: Essentially, Dustin feels white guilt and thinks that having a black boyfriend shows that he isn’t racist and also makes him a victim of white supremacy, which allows him to get over the guilt he experiences as someone that benefits from racism. This is very apparent from the role he chooses to play in the script.
Alana and Philip: Probably something about Philip experiencing a certain level of self hate as a black man whilst convincing himself that he doesn’t feel that way as he’s mixed race and hence isn’t “that black”. Somehow his blackness is also erotic to him? I don’t quite understand that part.
I will say that initially it was difficult to truly get into the play as i was just reading the script, but it definitely got better towards the end and it was an effortless and gripping read. It’s quite powerful and the style of the script feels almost poetic. All in all, Slave Play finds a beautiful balance between entertaining and thought provoking, a difficult nuance that most writers must find enviable.
Jim and Kaneisha: Jim doesn’t know he’s a racist, Kaneisha does at the back of her head. I was taking some notes because iBooks allows that and he mistakes a cantaloupe for a watermelon once but doesn’t seem to recognise that he’s being racist? I think Kaneisha was attracted to him because she felt that a mixed race couple where the white man was so incredibly stereotypically white would be really subversive, but she eventually realised that their relationship remained rather problematic and racist? Something about Jim policing her sexuality by not wishing to participate in Slave Play whilst pretending that he isn’t racist by acting all high and mighty. On a more personal note, I liked Kaneisha’s intelligence.
Dustin and Gary: Essentially, Dustin feels white guilt and thinks that having a black boyfriend shows that he isn’t racist and also makes him a victim of white supremacy, which allows him to get over the guilt he experiences as someone that benefits from racism. This is very apparent from the role he chooses to play in the script.
Alana and Philip: Probably something about Philip experiencing a certain level of self hate as a black man whilst convincing himself that he doesn’t feel that way as he’s mixed race and hence isn’t “that black”. Somehow his blackness is also erotic to him? I don’t quite understand that part.
I will say that initially it was difficult to truly get into the play as i was just reading the script, but it definitely got better towards the end and it was an effortless and gripping read. It’s quite powerful and the style of the script feels almost poetic. All in all, Slave Play finds a beautiful balance between entertaining and thought provoking, a difficult nuance that most writers must find enviable.
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