Playdate: Funnyhouse of a Negro

by Adrienne Kennedy

April 22, 2021

Adrienne Kennedy’s surreal exploration of racial identity startled critics and audiences alike in 1961, opening a window onto the complex mental landscape of a young woman struggling to reconcile her biracial inheritance. In this “funnyhouse” we encounter the many selves clamoring for attention in Sarah’s head—from Queen Victoria to Patrice Lumumba to Jesus. And these selves are interwoven with the painful memories of Sarah’s parents: snatches of conversations, fleeting images flickering endlessly across her mind in this visual and poetic tour de force.