Revolutionary Spaces Announces Development of New Play About Crispus Attucks

Revolutionary Spaces announced today that it has commissioned and plans to produce a new, untitled play focused on Crispus Attucks, a man of African and Native descent who was the first person to die at the Boston Massacre.

Development of the play will take place over the next few months, and Revolutionary Spaces hopes to mount the play at Old South Meeting House later in 2020. The play will be a companion piece to Reflecting Attucks, a new exhibit at the Old State House that examines how the memory of Attucks has inspired generations of activists to fight for social change.

This short play with a cast of two actors will be written by playwright Miranda Austen ADEkoje, and directed by Pascale Florestal, both based locally in Boston. The play will be produced by Plays in Place with Producing Artistic Director, Patrick Gabridge.

"For 250 years, Bostonians have remembered Crispus Attucks as a symbol of the courage and sacrifice needed to achieve change," said Nat Sheidley, President & CEO of Revolutionary Spaces. "That feels especially relevant right now, as we navigate the current public health crisis and look ahead to the 250th anniversary of the nation's independence in 2026."

The team behind Plays in Place has produced multiple site-specific works with Revolutionary Spaces, including Blood on the Snow and Cato & Dolly at the Old State House, reaching thousands of audience members. Cato & Dolly was also recently featured in an episode of PBS's The Future of America's Past. Committed to making and producing art locally, Miranda ADEkoje and Patrick Gabridge have also both participated in the Huntington Playwriting Fellows program through Huntington Theatre Company.

"In our current public health crisis, one positive response is to take time to create new works," said Patrick Gabridge, Producing Artistic Director of Plays in Place. "Theater brings history to life in new ways, and this play will give audiences a new perspective on Crispus Attucks and his legacy."