BLACK LITERATURE:
DRAMA
Like other Black creative traditions, Black drama functions as a dynamic site of cultural expression, historical testimony, and political resistance. Black plays serve as spaces where marginalised voices are not only heard but seen—where narratives often excluded from mainstream literature and media are performed with emotional, intellectual, and political force. Black playwrights have expanded the formal and thematic range of dramatic literature, reshaping theatrical canons in the US and UK. Below is a selection of 30 plays written by Black authors as well as details of notable performances. This list is not exhaustive, but it includes some of the best, most significant, or interesting works of Black theatre. Find out more about these works below.
The Black Doctor: A Romantic Drama in Four Acts, Ira Frederick Aldridge. 1883.
Read The Black Doctor: A Romantic Drama in Four Acts here.
Ira Frederick Aldridge was an American-born actor and playwright who moved to Britain after experiencing discrimination. His 1847 play, The Black Doctor, was an adaptation of the French play Le Docteur noir by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois, and follows the life of former enslaved man Fabian. Fabian uses his medical knowledge to save the lives of his neighbours, and eventually falls in love with his patient Pauline who is the daughter of a wealthy French aristocrat, leading to their doomed interracial romance.
Rachel, Angelina Weld Grimké. The Cornhill Company. 1916.
In part, Angelina Weld Grimké wrote her play Rachel as a response to the racist film The Birth of a Nation, and with the hope that it might help to educate audiences–particularly white audiences–about the horrors of racism and lynching. It was first staged as part of NAACP anti-lynching rallies that were protesting The Birth of a Nation. The play tells the story of African American woman Rachel who, despite wanting to be a mother, decides not to have children after witnessing the impact of racism on the children of her community, and learning of the violent lynching of her own father and brother.
Trouble in Mind, Alice Childress. Nick Hern Books, 1955.
Debuting in 1955, Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind examines racism and sexism in American theatre. Childress is the only African American woman to have written, produced, and published plays across four decades, and Trouble in Mind is her first full-length play. The play is a satire on American theatre, and follows Black actor Wiletta Mayer as she rehearses for a new Broadway play about racism that is written and directed by two white men. In 2022, a revival performance of her play won an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play.
Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Errol John. Faber. 1957.
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Written by Trinidadian actor and playwright Errol John, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl is set in post-War Trinidad and follows a young man’s struggles to escape from the impoverished Port of Spain slum. The play was first staged at Royal Court Theatre, London, and it was conceived in part to address John’s frustration at the lack of good theatre roles for Black actors in Britain.
Ti-Jean and His Brothers, Derek Walcott. 1958.
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Based on a West Indian folk tale about brothers who seek to overpower the Devil, Ti-Jean and His Brothers tells the story of a widowed mother and her three sons. Living on the edge of a magical forest haunted by the devil’s spirits, this family is incredibly poor, and the three brothers enter into a deal with the devil in order to change their impoverished situation.
A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry. 1959.
A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959, and it explores the experiences of a Black family in Chicago as they face racism and housing discrimination while attempting to improve their economic situation. The majority of the characters are Black, and in fact there is only one white character in the play. The production was both the first play written by a Black woman to be staged on Broadway, as well as the first Broadway play with a Black director. Following its theatrical debut, The New York Drama Critics' Circle named it the best play of 1959.
Blues for Mister Charlie, James Baldwin. Vintage Books. 1964.
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James Baldwin’s Blues for Mister Charlie is a three act drama loosely based on the lynching of Emmett Till. It also explores and critiques Christianity, which has been used historically to justify the enslavement of Black people, along with conventional morality. While godliness and courage have traditionally been associated with white characters, and immoral traits such as lust and violence have conversely been traditionally associated with Black characters, Baldwin subverts these expectations by associating his Black characters with the former moral traits and his white characters with the latter immoral traits. The play is dedicated to “the memory of Medgar Evers”, a civil rights activist who was murdered by a white supremacist group in 1963.
Funnyhouse of a Negro, Adrienne Kennedy. 1964.
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Funnyhouse of a Negro is a surrealist, one-act play that tells the story of a young Black American woman, Sarah, and her experiences with racism in America. It explores Sarah’s own internal struggles relating to her mixed race heritage through four manifestations of Sarah’s self–Duchess of Hapsburg, Queen Victoria Regina, Jesus and Patrice Lumumba–that embody different aspects of her racist subconscious, her obsession with whiteness, white father, her hatred for her white father and her own self-hatred. The play was first performed on Broadway in 1964 and was awarded the Obie Award for Distinguished Play.
Dutchman, Amiri Baraka. William Morrow. 1964.
First performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York in 1964, Dutchman by Amiri Baraka (then known as LeRoi Jones) explores Black identity and contemporary relations between white and Black communities. The play takes place on the New York subway, and focuses on an encounter between Lula, an older white woman, and Clay, a young Black man, as they ride the subway. Like Funnyhouse of a Negro, the play won an Obie Award, and later in 1967 Dutchman was adapted into a film of the same name.
The Slave, Amiri Baraka. William Morrow. 1964.
The Slave is a one-act play that explores tensions existing between white and Black communities in Amiri Baraka’s contemporary 1960s American society. The backdrop of the play is an America gripped by a race-war, and it follows Walker Vessels, a Black man who is the commander of the Black army. Walker breaks into the home of his white ex-wife, Grace, and her new white husband and attempts to violently remove the biracial children he shares with Grace.
As Time Goes By, Mustapha Matura. London, Calder and Boyars, 1971.
As Time Goes By was first performed in 1971 with a cast of Caribbean actors, and the production went on to win both the George Devine and John Whiting awards. The play is a satirical comedy about first generation immigrants living in Britain written by Mustapha Matura. Matura was himself an immigrant who moved to London from Trinidad in 1962, and he later co-founded the Black Theatre Co-operative with British director Charlie Hanson in order to support and commission work by Black British creatives.
for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, Ntozake Shange. 1976.
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Ntozake Shange’s 1976 play for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf combines poetic monologues, dance, music and song, leading to Shange coining the term choreopoem to describe her production. The production consists of 20 separate poetic monologues performed by seven African American women who are nameless, and only identified by a colour they are assigned (e.g. “Lady in Red”). Each monologue details different experiences of racism, sexism and oppression that African American women may face in their lives, but these stories also show the importance of sisterhood and finding solidarity with other women. The play won an Obie award in 1977, and later the Broadway production won a Tony award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. In 2010, a film adaptation of the play written, directed and produced by Tyler Perry was released under the title For Colored Girls.
Independence, Mustapha Matura. 1979.
Set in the Grand Hotel in Trinidad, Mustapha Matura's Independence follows the country’s struggle towards independence and self-governance.
Meetings, Mustapha Matura. 1981.
Mustapha Matura's 1981 play Meetings is a satire about a Westernised businessman that takes place in Trinidad in a modern kitchen. It follows a successful couple and their busy lives as the husband becomes nostalgic about the foods of his childhood. As he delves further into his exploration of traditional Creole food his life takes an abrupt, dark turn.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, August Wilson. 1984.
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Set in the 1910s, Joe Turner's Come and Gone is the second instalment of August Wilson’s chronicle of the African American experience, The Pittsburgh Cycle, which explores the life and struggles of African Americans in the 20th century, decade by decade. This play follows several former enslaved African Americans in North America as they face racial discrimination, the struggles of migration and trying to set down roots, and their search for identity as they question who they are as African American men and women. The 1988 production was awarded the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
Fences, August Wilson. 1985.
Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August Wilson’s Fences explores the struggles of a working class African American man as he tries to support his family. Through the story of Troy, a 53 year old former baseball player who now works as a trash collector, the play explores racial discrimination in sports, the workplace and with law enforcement and the penal system. In 1987, the play won several awards including the Tony award for Best Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and a Pulitzer Prize award.
The Piano Lesson, August Wilson. 1987.
The Piano Lesson is the fourth play in August Wilson’s series of plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, that chronicles the life and struggles of African Americans in the 20th century. Each work explores a different decade, and this play is set in Pittsburgh in 1936 in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Inspired by Romare Bearden’s painting “The Piano Lesson”, the play centres on a brother and sister who are arguing over what to do with their family heirloom, a piano, and through these arguments it confronts African American history and the importance of family legacies. In 1990 The Piano Lesson was nominated for several awards and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. Wilson’s play has been adapted into two films, first in 1995 directed by Lloyd Richards and then in 2024 in a Netflix adaptation directed by Malcolm Washington.
Remembrance, Derek Walcott. 1987.
Derek Walcott's Remembrance tells the story of retired teacher and writer, Albert Jordan. As he looks back over his life, Jordan is attempting to reconcile his love of British culture with his family and community in Independent Trinidad.
The Coup, Mustapha Matura. Bloomsbury: 1991.
Written by Trinidadian playwright Mustapha Matura, The Coup centres on a fictional revolution and coup taking place in Trinidad and Tobago. As an imprisoned Trinidadian president seeks to regain power during a military uprising, Matura’s play explores the violent and lasting legacy of colonialism through dark comedy.
Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Anna Deavere Smith. 1992.
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Anna Deavere Smith’s one-woman play Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 explores the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Smith had conducted over 300 interviews with individuals connected to the riots, and she used these narratives to create a series of monologues that formed the play. Characters featured in the play include Congresswoman Maxine Waters, a nameless juror on the Rodney King police trial, victims and instigators of the violence as well as various local Los Angeles residents. In 1994 Smith won the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance, and in 2000 she reprised her role for a filmed production titled Twilight: Los Angeles.
Choir Boy, Tarell Alvin McCraney. Theatre Communications Group, 2012.
Premiering in 2012 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, Choir Boy is a coming-of-age tale written by American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. At the centre of the play is the elite Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys and Pharus, a young gay, Black student who is the lead soloist at the school's celebrated gospel choir. The play follows Pharus as he explores his own identity and questions what it means to be a young, Black, queer man. The 2019 Broadway production of the play won a Special Tony Award and a Tony Award for Best Sound Design of a Play, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play. In 2024, a production of the play at the Bristol Old Vic theatre won several Black British Theatre Awards including Best Production.
Detroit '67, Dominique Morisseau. Detroit '67. 2013.
Detroit ‘67 is the first of three plays in Dominique Morisseau’s three-play cycle, The Detroit Project, and is followed by Paradise Blue and Skeleton Crew. Focusing on a brother and sister who have recently inherited their childhood home, this first play explores race relations in America against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement and the 1967 riots in Detroit, Michigan. The play was nominated for eight AUDELCO Theatre Awards and, in 2014, it was awarded the 2014 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History.
Dot, Colman Domingo. 2015.
Premiering in 2015, Colman Domingo’s Dot uses comedy to explore how families deal with a loved one’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the complex but also humorous conflicts that can arise from a family’s response to such an illness. Whilst writing the play, Domingo drew on his own experience of friends and family with Alzheimer’s, including his own mother: “I realized I had to laugh at the absurdity of certain things or else it would kill me. We’re all so afraid of dealing with death, but I’m not afraid of laughing at it a bit as well.”
ear for eye, debbie tucker green. 2018.
British playwright debbie tucker green’s ear for eye examines the historical origins and present day practice of racial justice. Britain’s history of protest–both violent and non-violent–generational divides and political differences are told through snapshots of Black British and African American lives. In 2021, green wrote and directed a film adaptation of her play of the same name which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.
The Meaning of Zong, Giles Terera. 2018.
First presented in a staged reading in 2018, and then later performed in Bristol in 2022, The Meaning of Zong takes the historical massacre on board the slave ship Zong as its main focus. Giles Terera incorporates fictional versions of real historical people into his play, including Olaudah Equiano–a former enslaved man who published a successful autobiography of his experience of enslavement and role in the abolitionist movement–and Ottobah Cugoano–another former enslaved African turned Black abolitionist–and he also draws on African traditions of storytelling by engaging directly with the audience.
Slave Play, Jeremy O. Harris. Nick Hern Books, 2018.
Slave Play is a three-act drama by American actor, playwright and screenwriter Jeremy O. Harris. The play creates a dialogue between slavery in the past and racism in the present. It follows three interracial couples undergoing “Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy” and explores contemporary racism, microaggressions, sex and power relations. Sex and and race are juxtaposed through the Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy to expose the intersection of race and gender, the persisting trauma of slavery and to make hypervisible whiteness and white privilege in interracial relationships. In 2019 Slave Play won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Fight Choreography.
seven methods of killing kylie jenner, Jasmine Lee-Jones. Bloomsbury: 2019.
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Black bodies are at the centre of Jasmine Lee-Jones’s debut play, seven methods of killing kylie jenner. The play is primarily an experimental argument between two friends that engages with the impact of internet culture and social media, and explores cultural appropriation, queerness and questions of ownership regarding Black bodies both online and in real life.
Death of England, Clint Dyer. 2020.
Death of England is a trilogy of plays that premiered at the National Theatre, London in January 2020 with the first instalment, Michael. The second instalments, Delroy and Closing Time, followed later in 2020 and then in 2023. The plays can be watched as a series or individually, and all explore different family dynamics and aspects of race, class, identity and the legacy of colonialism in Britain.
For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy. Ryan Calais Cameron. 2021.
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Inspired by Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, and also created to honour the unlawful death of Trayvon Martin, Ryan Calais Cameron’s play is an examination of Black masculinity and what it means to be Black and British. Focusing not on African American women–who are the subjects of Shange's play–but Black British men, it centres on six men who meet for sessions of group therapy. In this safe space and away from wider society, they can reflect upon their different experiences of father figures, fashion, relationships and life in Britain as Black men. For Black Boys was nominated for two Oliviers in 2023: Best New Play and Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Rockets and Blue Lights, Winsome Pinnock. Nick Hern Books: 2021.
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Inspired by J. M. W. Turner's "The Slave Ship"–one of the most famous paintings of the 19th century–Winsome Pinnock’s play vacillates between our present day and the 19th century to explore British history through the horrors of the slave trade. In 2022, Rockets and Blue Lights was awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama.
See also:
Black Theatre, USA: Plays by African Americans: The Recent Period, 1847-Today. Ted Shine and James V. Hatch (eds). New York: Free Press, 1996.
The Methuen Drama Book of Plays by Black British Writers. Lynett Goddard (ed). Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.
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