Claudia Rankine’s Help returns to The Shed's Griffin Theater March 15, and will run through April 10. The play is directed by Obie winner Taibi Magar and stars April Matthis (Toni Stone) in the leading role of the Narrator.
Help is described as an investigation into white dominance. It inserts its main character, the Narrator, into conversations with a variety of white people through a series of monologues and slice-of-life scenarios. These interactions bring forth questions of white privilege.
The show made its world premiere at The Shed in 2020 before being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following its closure, a movie adaptation directed by Phillip Youmans was created, called November. It stars Matthis in the narrator role, which was split among five performers.
With movement choreography by Shamel Pitts, the production also features set design by Mimi Lien, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by John Torres, sound design by Lee Kinney, original music composition by Jerome Ellis and James Monaco, Robert Duffley in dramaturgy, and David Lurie-Perret as production stage manager.
For more information, visit TheShed.org.