BLKS Announced At SpeakEasy Stage
BLKS explores the lives of three twenty-something black women trying to find intimacy and purpose in a city that just doesn't seem to care about them.
By: A.A. Cristi Oct. 12, 2021
From October 29 to November 20, 2021, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England premiere of BLKS, Aziza Barnes' raucous comedy of misbehavior that it is also "serious and sad and profoundly human." (New York Times).
Written by poet, performer, and playwright Aziza Barnes, BLKS explores the lives of three twenty-something black women trying to find intimacy and purpose in a city that just doesn't seem to care about them. The story begins when, in the wake of a serious health scare, Octavia recruits her besties June and Imani to join her for one last epic night on the town. But as the evening unfolds, a series of increasingly wild adventures tests their relationship in this" irreverent and exuberant play, saturated in race and sexuality," [that} is part romantic sitcom, part existential reflection..." (Washington Post)
CONTENT WARNING: Adult themes including drug use, sexual content, and strong language.
Author Aziza Barnes is, in her own words, "blk & alive." Z's play BLKS has been produced at Steppenwolf Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and MCC Theater. The play was nominated for the 2020 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play and won the inaugural Antonyo Award for Best Play, which is presented by Broadway Black. Z has worked on Netflix/Jenji Kohan's Slutty Teenage Bounty Hunters, FX's Snowfall, and Birth of Cool for Hillman Grad. Z is developing Pride for HBO with Natasha Rothwell and Alloy, and The Vanishing Half for HBO in partnership with Jeremy O. Harris.
Tonasia Jones will make her SpeakEasy directorial debut with this production. Regional directing credits: 3Miles (Huntington); The Elephant in The Room (Central Square); Proclamation (A.R.T); Raza (Front Porch); Legends, Statements, and Stars (The Theater Offensive); The Tempest (Wittenberg University); It's a Wonderful Life (Greater Boston Stage); Pay No Worship (Flat Earth); and Octavia & Kleopatra (Boston Podcast Players). Tonasia is the Director of Programs for The Theater Offensive and an Affiliated Professor at Emerson College.
Thomika Marie Bridwell, Kelsey Ferdinand, Meghan Hornblower, Sandra Seoane-Serí, Shanelle Chloe Villegas, and Sharmarke Yusef will bring these rich characters to life.
The design team is Jenna McFarland Lord (scenic); Cassandra Queen (costumes); Kat C. Zhou (lighting); and Anna Drummond (sound).
Adele Nadine Traub is the Production Stage Manager.
BLKS will run for four weeks, from October 29 through November 20, 2021, in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston's South End.
Ticket prices start at $25, with discounts for students, seniors, and people age 25 and under. For tickets or more information, the public is invited to call BostonTheatreScene Ticketing Services at 617.933.8600 or visit www.SpeakEasyStage.com.
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