NATIVE SON

by Nambi E. Kelley

Chicago. The South Side. The 1930s. A world where opportunity is elusive for people like Bigger Thomas. After landing a job in the home of a wealthy family, Bigger unwittingly unleashes a series of events that violently and irrevocably seal his fate. Using W.E.B. DuBois' theory of double consciousness as a grounding point, this adaptation of Native Son focuses on the landscape inside the mind of Bigger Thomas...

Chicago. The South Side. The 1930s. A world where opportunity is elusive for people like Bigger Thomas. After landing a job in the home of a wealthy family, Bigger unwittingly unleashes a series of events that violently and irrevocably seal his fate. Using W.E.B. DuBois' theory of double consciousness as a grounding point, this adaptation of Native Son focuses on the landscape inside the mind of Bigger Thomas, bringing the power of Richard Wright’s novel to life for a whole new generation.

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NATIVE SON

Recommended by

  • Emma Goldman-Sherman: NATIVE SON by Nambi E. Kelley
    “

    Nambi E. Kelley's Native Son is an intensely moving, daring, theatrical adaptation! I am stunned by the dramaturgy, the spareness of the language and how it evokes a wholly relatable experience of trauma through oppression. She gives us an experience of Bigger as he twists and turns trying to find a way out of the maze that is the systemic whiteness of our world. Speaks as much to today as it ever did. This is necessary theatre, and I'm grateful for it! MUST BE READ AND PRODUCED!

    Nambi E. Kelley's Native Son is an intensely moving, daring, theatrical adaptation! I am stunned by the dramaturgy, the spareness of the language and how it evokes a wholly relatable experience of trauma through oppression. She gives us an experience of Bigger as he twists and turns trying to find a way out of the maze that is the systemic whiteness of our world. Speaks as much to today as it ever did. This is necessary theatre, and I'm grateful for it! MUST BE READ AND PRODUCED!

    ”
  • Jason Loewith: NATIVE SON by Nambi E. Kelley
    “

    Nambi's adaptation is fierce, passionate and deeply theatrical. It's on my short list.

    Nambi's adaptation is fierce, passionate and deeply theatrical. It's on my short list.

    ”

Development History

  • Commission, American Blues Theater & Court Theatre, 2013

Production History

  • Professional, Court Theatre & American Blues Theater, 2014