SAFE HOUSE to Make West Coast Debut at Aurora Theatre Company

Aurora Theatre Company presents the West Coast Premiere of Keith Josef Adkins' SAFE HOUSE. What is family? Who deserves our loyalty and protection? What does it really mean to be free?

Set in Northern Kentucky in 1843, nearly two decades before the start of the Civil War, SAFE HOUSE explores the lives of one free family of color and the tensions that arise when two brothers have conflicting dreams about how to secure their futures. The Pedigrews are free people of color, a unique position in their antebellum community. While one brother strives to open a shoe business and create a successful life for his family, the other risks everything to help slaves escape. When a fugitive comes knocking, the brothers' freedom, loyalty, and dreams are put to the test. Inspired by Adkins' ancestors, this riveting, heart-wrenching story of love and survival rejects the notion of a world painted black and white.

African-American Shakespeare Company Artistic Director L. Peter Callender, who appeared in the Aurora Theatre Company productions of Master Harold...and the boys, Breakfast With Mugabe, The Soldier's Tale, and Permanent Collection, makes his Aurora directing debut with SAFE HOUSE, declared a "wonderfully complex play. Adkins is as hard-hitting as he is poetic" by the Cincinnati Enquirer when it premiered at Cincinnati Playhouse in 2014.

SAFE HOUSE plays previews: November 4, 5, 9 at 8pm; November 6 at 2pm; November 8 at 7pm, with an opening set for November 10, 2016. The production runs through December 4, with shows: Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2pm and 7pm. All performances take place at the Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA. For subscriptions and single tickets, the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. Half-off tickets for Under 35, student, and group discounts available.