A Middle Passage

by Yide Cai (蔡逸得)

A family of three generations works in an isolated drive-thru, preparing meals for unseen customers, disconnected from the outside world. As they struggle to keep up with endless orders, Grandma shares memories of a distant life, blending cultural nostalgia with a longing for lost seasons. Her stories unsettle the family, especially as strange, frozen items begin to appear on the conveyor belt and the...

A family of three generations works in an isolated drive-thru, preparing meals for unseen customers, disconnected from the outside world. As they struggle to keep up with endless orders, Grandma shares memories of a distant life, blending cultural nostalgia with a longing for lost seasons. Her stories unsettle the family, especially as strange, frozen items begin to appear on the conveyor belt and the temperature plummets, trapping them in an ever-colder space. Huddling together for warmth, they confront their reality—a fragmented existence suspended between worlds. This play serves as one of many “thrus” in America, a microcosm of immigrant stories woven throughout the nation’s history.

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A Middle Passage

Recommended by

  • Leah Roth Barsanti: A Middle Passage by Yide Cai (蔡逸得)
    “

    This play had me at "Setting" A Drive-thru, one of the many cracks of time and space in American society." LIKE COME ON, that's gorgeous writing from jump. And this play delivers on the promise of that gorgeous writing by creating a liminal space in which the audience can be fully immersed in the trials of this family and their struggle to avoid the assimilation that America is forcing upon them.

    This play had me at "Setting" A Drive-thru, one of the many cracks of time and space in American society." LIKE COME ON, that's gorgeous writing from jump. And this play delivers on the promise of that gorgeous writing by creating a liminal space in which the audience can be fully immersed in the trials of this family and their struggle to avoid the assimilation that America is forcing upon them.

    ”
  • Shaun Leisher: A Middle Passage by Yide Cai (蔡逸得)
    “

    I'd love to see this short play fully produced. I'd love to see what a creative design team can do with this fast food drive thru. Will it look like our current day fast food restaurants? How will it differ? Man and Woman are just trying to get through their 12 hour shifts as Grandmother is focused on not letting the past be forgotten. I have so many questions about the ending and that's what great theatre is supposed to do.

    I'd love to see this short play fully produced. I'd love to see what a creative design team can do with this fast food drive thru. Will it look like our current day fast food restaurants? How will it differ? Man and Woman are just trying to get through their 12 hour shifts as Grandmother is focused on not letting the past be forgotten. I have so many questions about the ending and that's what great theatre is supposed to do.

    ”

Character Information

  • Man
    30s, lives in exhaustion and caught between dilemmas
    30s
    BIPOC
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man
  • Grandma
    60s, lives in nostalgia, from a different world
    60s
    BIPOC
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Granddaughter
    6 years old, lives in wonder
    6
    BIPOC
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Child,
      Teens,
      20s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Woman
    30s, lives in fear, of a different race or ethnicity from other three characters
    30
    Any
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman

Development History

Production History

  • Professional, Boston Playwrights Theater, 2025

Awards