R(estoration) I(n) P(rogress)

Written by Andrea Ambam

Directed by Tammie Swopes

R(estoration) I(n) P(rogress) or R.I.P. follows the healing journey of an estranged mother and son after a police-involved death forces them back together. Now thrust in front of the public eye to perform as the perfect poster family, Jamal and Layla must navigate a convoluted legal system and parasitic media all while struggling to reconcile their newfound relationship. 

In response to the racial violence of the 1890s-1930s (and beyond), Black women playwrights pioneered a genre of theatre known as “anti-lynching plays.” Cultural critic and scholar, Koritha Mitchell, writes that these plays created space for Black people to “rehearse belonging” in the face of racial terrorism. In R.I.P., we are activating Provincetown Playhouse to rehearse healing. To rehearse loving. And to rehearse questioning and confronting the systems and institutions that continue to do us harm. 

A Note On Content: R(estoration) I(n) P(rogress) discusses, but does not depict, stage, or display any acts of police brutality or other forms of state-sanctioned violence.