''The Blacks'' (french: Les Nègres) is a play by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

dramatist

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

. Published in 1958, it was first performed in a production directed by Roger Blin at the Théâtre de Lutèce in Paris, which opened on 28 October 1959. __TOC__

Synopsis

A review of the Theatre Royal Stratford East production (2007) states:

In Genet's oeuvre

In a prefatory note, Genet specifies the conditions under which he anticipates the play would be performed, revealing his characteristic concern with the politics and ritual of theatricality: After '' The Balcony'', The Blacks was the second of Genet's plays to be staged in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The production was the longest-running

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

non-musical of the decade. This 1961 New York production opened on 4 May at the

St. Mark's Playhouse St. Mark's Playhouse at 133 Second Avenue in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City, was an Off-Off-Broadway theater notable for presenting the Negro Ensemble Company's production of '' The First Breeze of Summer'' by Leslie Lee, which pre ...

and ran for 1,408 performances. It was directed by Gene Frankel, with sets by

Kim E. Swados Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese fo ...

, music by Charles Gross, and costumes and masks by

Patricia Zipprodt Patricia Zipprodt (February 24, 1925 – July 17, 1999) was an American costume designer. She was known for her technique of painting fabrics and thoroughly researching a project's subject matter, especially when it was a period piece. During a c ...

. The original cast featured James Earl Jones as Deodatus, Roscoe Lee Browne as Archibald, Louis Gossett Jr., as Edgar Alas Newport News, Cicely Tyson as Stephanie, Godfrey Cambridge as Diouf, Jay J. Riley as the Governor, Cynthia Belgrave as Adelaide Bobo, Ethel Ayler as Augusta Snow, Helen Martin as Felicity Trollop Pardon,

Raymond St. Jacques Raymond St. Jacques (born James Arthur Johnson; March 1, 1930 – August 27, 1990) was an American actor, director and producer whose career spanned over thirty years on stage, film and television. St. Jacques is noted as the first African Americ ...

as Judge,

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

as the White Queen and Charles Gordone as the burglar. Shi Mei Li directed the play in 1983.Bradby (1998, 417).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blacks, The 1959 plays African and Black nationalism Plays by Jean Genet Postcolonialism Off-Broadway plays

Synopsis

In Genet's oeuvre

See also

References

Further reading

External links