The House That Will Not Stand

"You may be the wealthiest colored woman in New Orleans, but you built this house on sand, lies and dead bodies"

A bewitching drama of desire, jealousy, murder and voodoo set in New Orleans, 1836

Following an era of French colonial rule and relative racial acceptance, Louisiana's "free people of color" are prospering

Beatrice - a free woman of color - has become one of the city's wealthiest women through her relationship with a rich white man

When her lover mysteriously dies, Beatrice imposes a six-month period of mourning on herself and her three daughters

But, as the summer heat intensifies, the foundations of freedom she has built for herself and their three unwed daughters begin to crumble

Society is changing, racial divides are growing and - as the members of the household turn on each other in their fight for survival - it could cost them everything

Premiered Berkeley Rep, USA January 2014, and subsequently at the Tricycle Theatre, London, 9 October 2014.

This edition also features an Introduction by Professor Ayanna Thompson, Columbian College of Arts and Science