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WEST OF CENTRAL

Watts Riots, August 1966

Watts Riots, August 1966

Riots is something that happens when the Rams lose the conference championship. It was a Rebellion.
— Thelma from West of Central

Full-Length Noir Drama, One Intermission
4M, 3W

The year is 1966 and the remnants of the Watts Riots are still smoldering against the backdrop of South Central Los Angeles. When a mysterious man stumbles into the office of private eye Thelma Higgins looking to warn her husband that his life might be in danger, she soon discovers that the man she’s been married to for ten years is not who he claims to be. As her investigation leads her on a tangled trail of deceit, corruption, and treacherous backroom deals, she and her husband must learn to trust one another again to find out who’s trying to kill him and why.

This fast-paced noir explores the racial tensions that arose from the ashes of the Riots and the local political treachery that creates the racial fissures that fracture the Golden State.

Please click here for a selection of the play in PDF format

 

WORKSHOP

June 2018
The Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, MN
directed by Hayley Finn
 

WORLD PREMIERE

September 14-October 14 2018
Pillsbury House Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
directed by Hayley Finn