Pipeline

A socio-political play that takes us into the education system

One of the most recommended unproduced plays of 2016 according to the Kilroy List for female and trans authors, Dominique Morisseau's family drama finally gets its staging at the Lincoln Center this June, helmed by Lileana Blain-Cruz. A play that looks at the intersection of race and class in parenting, Pipeline is the latest work following Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, Paradise Blue and Detroit '67 (all encompassing the Detroit Project), as well as Sunset Baby, Blood at the Root and Follow Me to Nellie's.

What is it about?

A gripping insight into how racial and social politics can affect school life, we follow Nya Joseph, a hard-working single mother who has saved hard to send her son Omari to a prestigious private boarding school, whilst she teaches at a tough inner-city public school. Dedicated to providing a good education for her students, she is shocked to learn that Omari has been caught up in a hugely controversial incident at his school, something that the governors are determined to expel him for.

When faced with Omari's rage at his treatment at the expense of the other students, she is forced to confront her own parenting skills, and question her teaching skills when she herself chose to send him away to private education. Will she save her son from the dreaded "school to jail" pipeline?