Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson, published by Penguin Books in 2020, presents two powerful plays that explore themes of race and identity in 20th century America. This edition spans 208 pages and is written in English. The works delve into the lives of African American characters, highlighting their struggles and aspirations against the backdrop of societal challenges.
Readers will find a rich portrayal of the complexities of Black life through the narratives of Ma Rainey, a blues singer navigating the music industry, and Troy Maxson, a father grappling with his past and his son’s future. The plays reflect on issues of racism, ambition, and familial relationships, offering insights into the cultural and historical context of the time. This collection serves as a significant contribution to American drama and the understanding of African American experiences.
Official synopsis Publisher
NOW A NETFLIX FILM STARRING VIOLA DAVIS AND CHADWICK BOSEMAN
*Two stunning, intensely powerful modern classics about race in 20th century America from the legendary Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright August Wilson*
In Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the great blues diva Ma Rainey is due to arrive at a run-down Chicago recording studio with her entourage to cut new sides of old favourites. Waiting for her are the black musicians in her band – and the white owners of the record company. A tense, searing account of racism in jazz-era America that the New Yorker called ‘a genuine work of art’.
Fences centres on Troy Maxson, a garbage collector, an embittered former baseball player and a proud, dominating father, in 1950s Pittsburgh. When college athletic recruiters scout his teenage son, Troy struggles against his young son’s ambition, his wife, who he understands less and less, and his own frustrated dreams.
‘A prolific and successful playwright who confines his themes to African American culture… The level of his achievement is high. This comes powerfully into view when the play is read, an activity for me that is equal to, and in some ways more fruitful than, seeing its stage production.’ Toni Morrison
‘In his work, August Wilson depicted the struggles of Black Americans with uncommon lyrical richness, theatrical density and emotional heft, in plays that give vivid voices to people on the frayed margins of life’ New York Times
‘August Wilson has established himself as the richest theatrical voice to emerge in the U.S. since Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller’ Time
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