Harriet Jacobs: A Special Engagement @ RCAHH

Following its sold-out run at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge,Harriet Jacobs, Lydia R. Diamond’s play that tells the harrowing true story about the life of a slave in the years leading up to the Civil War, will be staged for three shows at the Roxbury Center for Arts at Hibernian Hall. Produced by Underground Railway Theater in collaboration with artists from The Providence Black Repertory Company, Harriet Jacobs will play March 6 and 7 at RCAHH in Roxbury.

Harriet Jacobs wrapped up a four week, critically acclaimed run at the Central Square Theater in Cambridge on January 31. Because of the amazing response and the quality of the show’s production, Madison Park Development Corp, the parent organization for RCAHH was compelled to bring the show to Roxbury.

Cathy Carr Kelly, executive director of the Central Square Theater announced the mini-tour and remarked; “the public response was overwhelming! We had to turn away so many who wanted to see the show, so we decided to bring it to two more cities. The production is being re-staged to fit into the two theaters.” Other dates for this show include March 10-13 at the Perishable Theatre in Providence, RI.

Astonishing and moving, Harriet Jacobs is the story of a remarkable woman’s resistance to oppression. In Lydia R. Diamond’s adaptation of Jacobs’ autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet reaches out from her own era and compels us to look at our history as if for the first time. Directed by Megan Sandberg-Zakian, this unsparing yet poetic coming-of-age story is based on the only published book-length slave narrative written by a woman.

Lydia Diamond’s plays include: Stick Fly (in production at The Huntington Theatre in February '10), Voyeurs de Venus, The Bluest Eye, The Gift Horse, Stage Black, and Harriet Jacobs. Producing Theatres include: Arena Stage, Huntington, New Vic, Goodman, Steppenwolf, Long Wharf, Hartford Stage, McCarter, Playmakers Rep, Providence Black Rep, Chicago Dramatists, Congo Square, TrueColors, The Matrix, and Company One. Commissions include: Steppenwolf, Humana/Victory Gardens, McCarter, Huntington, and Roundabout. Lydia is on faculty at Boston University, is an ‘06/07 Huntington Playwright Fellow, and a current TCG Executive Board Member.