WEDDING BAND

“SOME TRUTH HAS NO NOURISHMENT IN IT.”

The stellar work - written with great precision and powerful storytelling by Alice Childress - gives an emotional portrayal of a relationship between a Black seamstress, Julia, and a white baker, Herman, in the shadow of the First World War and the 1918 flu epidemic in Charleston, South Carolina. The couple's deep love and commitment faces the cruel racism of the Deep South in this revealing portrayal of interracial love, forced to navigate the societal racism of laws and culture, along with heartbreaking judgment from their own families and communities. Written during the Civil Rights era, the play resonates in our modern times of racial reckoning with movements such as Black Lives Matter, across North America, and at a time when a new pandemic is tragically altering lives.

Setting: South Carolina, 1918.

House Program: Wedding Band

Runtime: Two hours and 20 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission.*

*Please note that all run times are approximate.

The Feminist Expansion of the Western Canon

Hannah Rittner was curator-in-residence for the Festival in 2020-2022 with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. In this role, she read, researched and selected 400-plus plays written by women between the 17^th and 21^stcenturies to create a research project entitled “The Feminist Expansion of the Western Canon,” in which she seeks to transform the Western theatrical canon so that it may include and celebrate the female gaze.

Explore the history behind Wedding Band.