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"ULTRA-CLEVER...
DELICIOUSLY REINVENTS A SHAKESPEAREAN CLASSIC." - CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "WITH A FRESH AND VITAL FORCE, IJAMES AND JUICY MAKE THE HAMLET SAGA MORE COMEDY THAN TRAGEDY, TAKING A TORTURED STORY OF FATHER INFLUENCE AND TURNING IT INTO A KIND OF PARTY."
- THE NEW YORKER |
BY JAMES IJAMES
DIRECTED BY DON MAYS RHODE ISLAND PREMIERE MARCH 27 - APRIL 13 |
“Ijames’s outstanding transformation of Shakespeare’s tragedy into a play about Black masculinity and queerness, both echoes HAMLET and finds a language beyond it...a hilarious yet profound tragedy, smothered in comedy"
- The New York Times
- The New York Times
*RHODE ISLAND PREMIERE*
Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
FAT HAM
BY
JAMES IJAMES
DIRECTED BY DON MAYS
JAMES IJAMES
DIRECTED BY DON MAYS
A funny, poignant play that deftly transposes Hamlet to a family barbecue in the American South to grapple with questions of identity, kinship, responsibility, and honesty.
Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy.
Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy.
NEWS + MEDIA
"A delicious spin on Hamlet. Take my word for it: You’re going to want seconds.
A comedy with serious tragic business on its mind, Fat Ham is [a] gripping, boisterously outrageous, theatrical offering...In reminding us that we’re not the sum of our mistakes, Ijames asks us to consider what our lives would be like if we would choose 'pleasure over harm.' Fat Ham practices what it preaches by lavishing laughter and delight as it encourages us to take our destinies caressingly in hand."
– Los Angeles Times
“A hilarious and thought-provoking nod to the 'old white dude's tragedy'...[you'll be] dancing your way out of the theatre!”
– WBUR
"With a fresh and vital force, Ijames and Juicy make the Hamlet saga more comedy than tragedy, taking a tortured story of father influence and turning it into a kind of party."
– The New Yorker
A comedy with serious tragic business on its mind, Fat Ham is [a] gripping, boisterously outrageous, theatrical offering...In reminding us that we’re not the sum of our mistakes, Ijames asks us to consider what our lives would be like if we would choose 'pleasure over harm.' Fat Ham practices what it preaches by lavishing laughter and delight as it encourages us to take our destinies caressingly in hand."
– Los Angeles Times
“A hilarious and thought-provoking nod to the 'old white dude's tragedy'...[you'll be] dancing your way out of the theatre!”
– WBUR
"With a fresh and vital force, Ijames and Juicy make the Hamlet saga more comedy than tragedy, taking a tortured story of father influence and turning it into a kind of party."
– The New Yorker
CAST + CREATIVE TEAM
Dana Reid
Mamadou Torre
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Jermaine L. Pearson*
Jeff Ararat
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Maria Albertina*
Autumn Jefferson
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FAT HAM
by James Ijames Directed by Don Mays Sound Design by Cat Ashley Costume Design by Jaimy Escobedo Light Design by Andy Russ Set Design by Shanel LaShay Smith Asst. Direction by Gia Yarn Technical Direction by Dave Carney Stage Management by Gavin DiFranco* Asst. Stage Management by Natalie Rosario House Management by Christine Treglia Volunteer Management by Renee Bessette Production Photographer, Erin X. Smithers Press / Media Inquiries: Niki Healy |
*Appears courtesy Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
James Ijames. Photo by Justin DeWalt.
James Ijames (playwright) is a Pulitzer Prize winning and Tony Award nominated playwright, a director and educator.
James’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre, Theatre Exile, Azuka Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre, JACK, The Public Theater (NYC), Hudson Valley Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre, Timeline Theater (Chicago IL) Shotgun Players (Berkeley, CA) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Garden.
James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre Company and Gem of the Ocean with Arden Theatre. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ....Miz Martha, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise, a 2020 and 2022 Steinberg Prize, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama recipient and a 2023 Tony nominee for Best Play for Fat Ham.
James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and a M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. James an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University. He resides in South Philadelphia.
James’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre, Theatre Exile, Azuka Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre, JACK, The Public Theater (NYC), Hudson Valley Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre, Timeline Theater (Chicago IL) Shotgun Players (Berkeley, CA) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Garden.
James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre Company and Gem of the Ocean with Arden Theatre. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ....Miz Martha, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for Kill Move Paradise, a 2020 and 2022 Steinberg Prize, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama recipient and a 2023 Tony nominee for Best Play for Fat Ham.
James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and a M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. James an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University. He resides in South Philadelphia.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR
2024/25 SEASON
Join us at for Season 15 at Providence's home for groundbreaking artists and adventurous audiences. Membership includes admission to our 2024/25 Main Series productions and special events, including Rhode Island premieres of Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me, César Alvarez's acclaimed new musical Noise, Christopher Hampton's translation of The Father: A Tragic Farce by Florian Zeller, James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning Fat Ham, and more!
Become a Member for our 2024/25 Season today and never miss a thing.
Become a Member for our 2024/25 Season today and never miss a thing.
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An award-winning, not-for-profit professional theatre company, the Wilbury Theatre Group engages our community in thought-provoking conversation through new works, reimagined classics and adventurous playmaking. We are idealistic, ambitious, and stubborn in our resolve to create theatre that entertains, enlightens, and inspires.
It's the support of donors like you that makes our work possible - please consider making a generous donation today and help us continue to grow.
It's the support of donors like you that makes our work possible - please consider making a generous donation today and help us continue to grow.
