Broadway Book Club is proud to present its next subscription box of Playwright’s Picks by Jocelyn Bioh, an award-winning Ghanaian-American writer/performer from New York City. She has written numerous plays that explore themes of identity, race, gender, and culture, including the widely acclaimed “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play,” “Nollywood Dreams,” and “Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas.” Her works have been staged at prestigious theaters across the United States and around the world, including the Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater, and the National Theatre in London. Bioh’s plays have earned critical acclaim and garnered multiple awards, including the Lucille Lortel Award, the Obie Award, and the Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award. In addition to her writing, Bioh is also an accomplished performer, having acted in numerous productions both on and Off-Broadway.

Here is what Jocelyn has to say about some of her picks:

FABULATION OR, THE RE-EDUCATION OF UNDINE by Lynn Nottage

I believe Lynn Nottage to be one of the greatest playwrights of all time. Her understanding of structure and character development is unparalleled, but I was blown away (and doubled over in laughter) when I read Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine. It centers around Undine, an out of work publicist who has to move back in with her family, who are an incredibly eclectic and hilarious cast of characters. If you have an aunt, cousin, sibling, or parent who drives you crazy—in a loveable way—this play will have you in stitches… or calling your therapist.

BETRAYAL by Harold Pinter

This is secretly one of my favorite plays as I have probably read it over ten times. I continue to marvel at Pinter’s skill in telling the story of a devastating extramarital affair in reverse chronological order. There are so many shocking revelations in this play—namely, in the end, when we see the simple, almost accidental, way the affair even begins.

VENUS by Suzan-Lori Parks

Suzan-Lori Parks is theatre royalty for a reason. Her voice is singular because of her fearless approach to storytelling and the seamless way she weaves poetry into her dialogue. In Venus, she tells the true story of Sarah Baartman, whose voluptuous body was commodified and profited off of for most of her life back in the early nineteenth century. In a day and age where there is so much discussion about the oversexualization of Black women in the media, I find this play has powerfully heartbreaking resonance today.

Order by April 14 to receive this limited-edition box!

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