January 2016
The Storefront Theatre
Byhalia, Mississippi
Jim and Laurel Parker anxiously await the birth of their first child. The due date passes and when the baby finally arrives, the couple is faced with the biggest challenge of their lives: Laurel has given birth to a black baby boy, the result of an affair the previous year. The lives of their family and friends are thrown into turmoil in Byhalia, Mississippi, a town with a racially-charged past that still simmers close to the surface.
Production Credits:
Written by: Evan Linder
Director: Jill Harper
Ensemble: Claire Armstrong, Joshua Browne, Mazin Elsadig, & Virgilia Griffith
Set Designer: Christine Groom
Costume Designer: Holly Lloyd
Lighting Desginer: Simon Rossiter
Sound Designer: Jeremy Hutton
Stage Manager: Tamara Protic
Associate Producer: Joshua Browne
Byhalia, Mississippi was the 2015 winner of the NewWorks@The Works Playwrighting competition at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis TN, and has been short-listed for numerous awards including the Theatre503 Playwriting award.
The play premiered simultaneously in 7 cities across North America as part of a unique “World Premiere” Conversation culminating with an online talkback connecting artists and audiences from all 7 cities.
Nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance - Claire Armstrong
Produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council
“This play brings up issues of class, race, family, faithfulness, and forgiveness. It makes you question where you draw the line on betrayal. How forgiving can you be?”
— Broadway World
“Byhalia, Mississippi is a resonating and intense work of art that had me gasping on the edge of my chair.”
— Mooney on Theatre
