Babel by Jacqueline Goldfinger

*To learn more about the Rolling World Premiere in 2020, contact NNPN.* What would you do if you had the power to build your own baby? In this version of a near future society, prospective parents learn within the first weeks of conception which genetic traits their child will have, and what behaviors they are likely to exhibit. Based on these test results, the parent(s) are either issued a PRE certification...
*To learn more about the Rolling World Premiere in 2020, contact NNPN.* What would you do if you had the power to build your own baby? In this version of a near future society, prospective parents learn within the first weeks of conception which genetic traits their child will have, and what behaviors they are likely to exhibit. Based on these test results, the parent(s) are either issued a PRE certification which legally guarantees the baby will be a "good" person or not. Without the certification, the child will be limited in what it is allowed to do. Two couples collide over what to do with their PRE certification test results. With rapid advances in reproductive technology, modern eugenics is science’s Wild West. What will we do to “civilize” it and ourselves? How far will we go when playing God? If you like Booker’s “Black Mirror,” Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go,” or Haley’s “The Nether,” then this play is for you.
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Babel

Recommended by

  • Unicorn Theatre:
    28 Mar. 2019
    “ This play was a FINALIST for the 2019-2020 In-Progress New Play Reading Series at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. It is our pleasure to support BABEL. ”
  • Lainie Vansant:
    18 Mar. 2019
    “ Goldfinger balances dystopian future with a present that audiences will very much connect with in this heart-wrenching play. The arguments for both sides are believable, and it asks big questions about how we label people and how damaging labels - even those that are "earned" - can be. Plus, there are real, high stakes, tight two-person scenes, and a lot of heart. Excellent all around! ”
  • Ann Filmer:
    6 Dec. 2018
    “ Cool play! As a mom, the paranoia here rings true. These fears of eugenics are real, and I am fascinated with the frightening world this writer has created. Much food for thought about how many steps away our world is from pre-certification? Maybe not so far! ”
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This play is set in a future where genetic testing has become so fine tuned that most -isms (racism, sexism, etc) has been replaced with genetic discrimination. Therefore, the casting is very flexible.

Development History

Production History

Awards

Nominee
,
Blackburn Prize
,
2019
Nominee
,
Weissberger Award
,
2019
Winner
,
Smith Prize for Political Theatre
,
2017