Celebrate World Theatre Day

with Performances from

South Africa, Sweden, and the US

of an American Classic

Groundbreaking at the time, the 1959 Broadway play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry showcased to a wider public the struggles of a poor African-American family in the United States. Prominent high profile productions took place for the first time ever in 2016 in Sweden, directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, OBE, and at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, directed by James Ngcobo. Arena Stage’s Mead Center for the American Theatre in Washington, DC will produce the play in April of 2017.

Dreams Deferred, a one-night-only event, will explore the resonance of this classic play in three different cultural contexts – South Africa, Sweden, and the United States – as well as the larger cross-current themes of racial equality and justice, the legacies of author Lorraine Hansberry, the Civil Rights Movement and Apartheid. The evening will include scenes from A Raisin in the Sun and other pieces artistically inspired by the monumental legacy of Hansberry’s play, and participants including the celebrated directors of these productions, Swedish director Josette Bushell-Mingo, OBE, James Ngcobo, Artistic Director of the Market Theatre, and Joi Gresham, Director and Trustee of the Lorraine Hansberry Literary Trust, and the event will be moderated by Georgetown Professor and leading Hansberry expert Soyica Colbert. The evening will begin with Kwame Kwei-Armah, OBE, Artistic Director of Baltimore CenterStage and producer of the Raisin Cycle in 2013, who will give the US World Theatre Day address.

Please note: this event has limited seating, which is available on a first come, first served basis. Any tickets not picked up 15 minutes prior to curtain may be released to patrons on standby.

Dreams Deferred is produced by The Lab, Theatre Communications Group, and the Global Theater Initiative in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden and the Georgetown University/Arena Stage/Ammerman Family Partnership, and in association with the South African Embassy, Riksteatern, the International Theatre Institute, and Mosaic Theater. It is part of World Theatre Day, and will be livestreamed by HowlRound TV.

Created in 1961, World Theatre Day, is celebrated annually on March 27 by International Theatre Institute Centers around the world and the international theater community. Each year, a renowned theater artist of world stature is invited to craft an International Message to mark the global occasion.

This event is part of Georgetown University's partnership with Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, which has been made possible by the generosity of the Ammerman Family.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and The Lab launched the Global Theater Initiative (GTI) in February 2016. By combining the unique reach of TCG’s international programming with The Lab’s distinctive experience in humanizing global politics through the power of performance, GTI strengthens, nurtures, and promotes global citizenship and international collaboration in the U.S. professional and educational theatre field. It also honors and intersects with the work so many theatre colleagues have invested in cross-cultural exchange and understanding. Through the alignment of programming and resources, the GTI partners serve as a hub of global exchange with three core areas of focus: connecting practitioners with resources, knowledge, and partnerships to strengthen their work; promoting cultural collaboration as essential for international peace and mutual understanding; and innovating new strategies to maximize the global theatre field’s opportunities and impact. GTI also serves as the collaborative leadership of the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute.

Dreams Deferred: Crossing Continents and Cultures with A RAISIN IN THE SUN