Theatre: An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

‘Hi everyone, I’m a black playwright. Now I don’t know what that means but I’d like to tell you a story.’

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ radical reboot of Irish playwright, Dion Boucicault’s notorious 1859 play The Octoroon became “this decade’s most eloquent statement on race in America today.” (The New York Times)

Both old and new, both disturbing and hilarious, the original storyline of this flawed Irish classic is remixed into a bigger, wilder, more subversive version. The Peyton’s failing Louisiana plantation is in financial ruins. Everything and everyone they own is going to be auctioned. Can Zoe escape the clutches of the devious Jacob McClosky?

After productions in New York and London, the Abbey Theatre presents the Irish premiere of An Octoroon in Boucicault’s hometown. What might it mean for Ireland today?

ISL performance: Thursday 5 May, 7:30pm

Audio-described and captioned performance:
Saturday 14 May, 2:00pm

Running time: 2hrs 40 Minutes including an interval

Content Advice: An Octoroon uses caricatures and racial comedy to challenge societal conventions. It features murders, racial violence, and obscene language, including the N-word.

To book tickets, please visit the Abbey Theatre website.

You can also contact box office on (01) 87 87 222 or by email at boxoffice@abbeytheatre.ie.

Image courtesy of the Abbey Theatre.