Black Theatre as Contemporary Drama

Among the important black playwrights are Lorraine Hansberry (A Raisin in the Sun, 1959) and August Wilson (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 1984). The

African‑American director Lloyd Richards produced A Raisin in the Sun

and directed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at Yale Repertory Theatre and

then on Broadway.

August Wilson won the Pulitzer Prize for Fences in 1985.  He has been in the news recently because he has asserted that only black directors can understand and reveal the voice of black playwrights. This issue and other concerns reveal that politics and ideology continue to shape theatre practice.