Beneatha’s Place

Some things we do for those we are responsible for, some things for ourselves, and some things we do for the ancestors.
Today, it’s all three!

1959. The first wave of independence is sweeping across Africa and Beneatha has left the prejudice of 1950s America for a brighter future with her Nigerian husband in Lagos. But on the day they move into their new house in the white suburbs, it doesn’t take long for cracks to appear, changing the course of the rest of their lives.

Present day. Now a renowned Dean whose colleagues are questioning the role of African American studies for future generations, Beneatha returns to the same house in search of answers.

Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry’s ground-breaking modern classic, A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha’s Place challenges today’s culture wars about colonial history and reckoning with the past. A razor-sharp satire from Young Vic Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, about the power of knowing your history and the cost of letting it go, this edition was published to coincide with the London premiere at the Young Vic Theatre, in June 2023.

Kwame Kwei-Armah is British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. In 2018 he was made Artistic Director of the Young Vic Theatre, where he has directed Twelfth Night and Tree. From 2011 to 2018 he was the Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage where his directing credits include: Jazz, Marley, One Night in Miami, Amadeus, and Dance of the Holy Ghosts. As a playwright his credits include Tree (Manchester International Festival, Young Vic), One Love (Birmingham Repertory Theatre), Beneatha’s Place (Baltimore Center Stage) Elmina’s Kitchen, Fix Up, Statement of Regret (National Theatre), Let There Be Love and Seize the Day (Tricycle Theatre)