Winner of the 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award

The Manhattan Theatre Club presents the exciting world premiere of Donja R. Love's powerful new drama Sugar In Our Wounds. The proudly Afro-Queer (an amalgamation of his sexual and cultural identity) poet, playwright and filmmaker was awarded the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award for this work in early 2018, funding the fully-fledged Off-Broadway production.

An intriguing and surreal voyage into the annals of history, the play sees the pairing of Love's writing with director and frequent collaborator Saheem Ali, whom he last worked with on The Love Plays, a trilogy that explored similar themes. Saheem's previous Off-Broadway credits include the critically praised Kill Move Paradise and Twelfth Night.

What Is Sugar In Our Wounds About?

Set during the Civil War, Sugar In Our Wounds explores unexpected and little known, yet pivotal moments in black history and its relationship with gender and sexuality. The story follows a young slave called James, who often sits beneath a mystical tree reading news of the imminent emancipation of slaves as the war rages on. When an enigmatic stranger arrives and is taken in by James' family, love blossoms between them, complicating an already complex situation.