As climate catastrophe reshapes Chicago, a queer black intellectual confronts a lover, a computer, and a mysterious visitor on his quest for truth in virtual realities. The lines between the physical and digital blur as our blackademic grows obsessed with researching a problematic video game.

Imagine a Priestexx Dark, in full "Africana" garb, mystical powers at their height, glaring -- as an Avenging Angel might -- at the impetuous Blackademic before her. He demands THE TRUTH, from his modest perch in his basement apartment.

A play with drums, underdrown is part of The NightQueen Performance Suite – three evening-length works blending theater, music, new media and oral storytelling traditions to conjure a mythology reflecting the contemporary Black experience. NightQueen follows an ensemble seeking hope in one another as their world is transformed by a global water crisis, unbridled network technologies and resurgent fascism.