The Darker Face of the Earth
by Rita Dove (1994)
The UK première of a play by one of America's finest writers.
Rita Dove is a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and former American Poet Laureate. This is her first full-length play.
Drawing on classical themes, The Darker Face of the Earth is a powerful exploration of sexual and racial tensions on a plantation in pre-Civil War South Carolina.
'Rita Dove has created a drama in which black and white Americans are bound together not only by the chains of history, and not only the necessity of sharing the land, but by ties of blood and passion as well.' Detroit Free Press
'A major American play. With skill that approaches a celestial gift, Dove blends form, subject and content. Along with her imagery, her poetic structures, using couplets, rhyme and blank verse, give this play a music of its own.' Mail Tribune
James Kerr is a former Director on Attachment at the National Theatre Studio and has most recently directed work at the Donmar and the Gate. This is his first production at the National.
There is an Education Worksheet for this production.
Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes (including interval)
The Darker Face of the Earth finished on: 11 November 1999
