Playwright Jocelyn Bioh and director Saheem Ali detail their adaptation of The Merry Wives of Windsor with an all-Black cast, debuting at The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park.
—part of Ali and Bioh’s quest to celebrate Black joy—is set in a West African neighborhood in Harlem and will run at the Delacorte Theater from July 6 through August 29. “When I was reading the script, I started to picture two Black women sitting in a braiding salon,” says Ali. Bioh, who grew up in the city to Ghanaian parents, wasn’t surprised: “I’ve probably spent five years cumulatively sitting in that salon. These are my people.
In lieu of their typical wine-and-snack-filled get-togethers, the two have been working via Zoom and Google Docs on this production since February, all while never quite knowing if the country would be safe for live performances come summertime. “It was all theoretical,” says Ali. Now that the project is officially a go, the emotional weight of this experience is starting to kick in. “We all understand how precious what we do is and how easily it can be ripped away from us,” says Bioh.
Representation has always been at the forefront of Ali and Bioh’s works. “I’ve been invited to tell stories with writers that are about intense Black pain and suffering, and I’ve told those stories,” says Ali. “But I’m interested in really moving the needle, and engaging in stories that are joyful, because those stories do exist as well.” Bioh agrees. “I believe that Black joy is an act of rebellion. No one wants to see it enough. Those are not the stories that make mainstream news.
HAIR, ANDRITA RENEE; MAKEUP AND GROOMING, MICHELA WARIEBI; TAILOR, MARIA DEL GRECO. PRODUCED ON LOCATION BY THE CUSTOM FAMILY. FOR DETAILS, GO TO VF.COM/CREDITS.
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