The Death of King Philip

At first we meet Mary as a woman of sixty recalling the momentous event of her youth; then Mary at thirty appears and acts out the events themselves - her capture by the Indian leader, King Philip; and the retribution exacted by her fanatical minister husband, Joseph Rowlandson, and the other settlers

In a series of deftly written, compelling scenes, the irony of the situation in which the protagonists find themselves is made clear: The noble, dignified Indian leader is forced into savage acts of vengeance against his will; while the God-fearing Puritans, despite the teachings of their church, counter with equally terrible acts

In the end King Philip, accepting the inevitable, lays down his arms and surrenders to his fate; yet, as the play so eloquently confirms, the end result is not a matter of victory - but, rather, of the sowing of the seeds of white racism which will bear bitter fruit in succeeding generations

An eloquent and moving evocation of a tragic page in America`s early history the inexorable destruction of the American Indian

First presented by the renowned Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the 1983 Festival of Short Plays

" it is written with a spare lyricism that brings it to a quick and shattering emotional catharsis" ~ Louisville Courier-Journal

" took us back to colonial times for a mordant and poetic tale about an Indian chief forced into acts of savagery" ~ NY Times