The House That Will Not Stand is a fantastic piece of theatre that puts you through an emotional wringer. Humorous, sad, anger and thought provoking, the story is set in early 19th Century New Orleans, during a period of French rule.
A wealthy white man dies, leaving a black matriarchal “concubine” and his 3 daughters by her, as well as a white “wife”. All hell breaks loose…The playwright, Marcus Gardley explains way better than I can…
The performance at London’s Tricycle Theatre (now the Kiln) had a strong cast of excellent black female actors, including the fantastic Claire Perkins (ex Eastenders) who played Tante, the “mad” sister of the main character Beartrice (and who was also most excellent in How to be Immortal).
The whole system of Plaçage that existed during slavery was something I was completely unaware of, so I got a fascinating history lesson as well. Who knew there were black women millionaires in the times of slavery…