The House of the Negro Insane

by Terence Anthony

The year is 1935 and the Central State Hospital is one of seven psychiatric facilities in the U.S. built exclusively to care for “insane and idiotic negroes,” where the homeless and downtrodden are housed alongside the criminally insane and diseased. Attius builds coffins for the hospital where he has been locked up for years, but when two new patients ask him to help them escape Attius dares to dream of a life...

The year is 1935 and the Central State Hospital is one of seven psychiatric facilities in the U.S. built exclusively to care for “insane and idiotic negroes,” where the homeless and downtrodden are housed alongside the criminally insane and diseased. Attius builds coffins for the hospital where he has been locked up for years, but when two new patients ask him to help them escape Attius dares to dream of a life beyond his confines.

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The House of the Negro Insane

Recommended by

  • D.W. Gregory: The House of the Negro Insane by Terence Anthony
    “

    A powerful play about hope and resilience in the face of impossible odds. Beautifully rendered, spare and lyrical.

    A powerful play about hope and resilience in the face of impossible odds. Beautifully rendered, spare and lyrical.

    ”
  • Kyle Smith: The House of the Negro Insane by Terence Anthony
    “

    I saw this play at CATF, and was struck by the roughness, hope, and simple poeticism of the world these characters inhabit. This play envelopes you in it's wings and flies you on a journey that will move you, even if it burns you a bit along the way.

    I saw this play at CATF, and was struck by the roughness, hope, and simple poeticism of the world these characters inhabit. This play envelopes you in it's wings and flies you on a journey that will move you, even if it burns you a bit along the way.

    ”
  • Andrea Fine Carey: The House of the Negro Insane by Terence Anthony
    “

    Terence Anthony grabs your heart from the opening line and doesn't let go. Set in a psychiatric hospital/prison/homeless shelter for blacks in 1935, the play is impeccably written, with characters whom I can't stop thinking--and caring--about. A delightfully disturbing masterpiece.

    Terence Anthony grabs your heart from the opening line and doesn't let go. Set in a psychiatric hospital/prison/homeless shelter for blacks in 1935, the play is impeccably written, with characters whom I can't stop thinking--and caring--about. A delightfully disturbing masterpiece.

    ”
View all 5 recommendations

Development History

  • Workshop, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 2019
  • Workshop, PlayPenn, 2017

Production History

  • Professional, Contemporary American Theater Festival, 2022
  • Professional, National Black Theater Festival, 2022