NASHVILLE, TN (TN Tribune) – Nashville Repertory Theatre is proud to present its second Ingram New Works Reading of its 23/24 Season with NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF CEDRIC BARTHOLOMEW, written by Jonathan Payne at the Nashville Public Television Station, 161 Rains Avenue, Nashville, TN, 37204, January 13th at 7:30. For reservations and information, visit www.nashvillerep.org.
Nashville Rep’s Ingram New Works Project is dedicated to supporting exceptional new voices in theater offering playwrights a platform to develop impactful stories. Through developmental support, networking opportunities, and public readings, the project has nurtured over 60 new plays since its inception in 2009. Ingram New Works Readings are free to the whole community.
NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF CEDRIC BARTHOLOMEW follows a failed journalist hired by the Federal Writers Project in 1932 who catches hold of a highly sought meeting with a former slave who mysteriously acquired his former master’s fortune, including over 100 acres of land. Inspired by Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and the Slave Narratives gathered by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930’s, Narrative of the Life of Cedric Bartholomew, tells an epic story of legacy, love, and tragedy.
“I was always drawn to the slave narratives as a great source of history to learn the stories I had no access to growing up,” says playwright Jonathan Payne. “And what a harrowing and fascinating way to learn it than by those who experienced it themselves. But then to gain context of how these stories were collected and how these individuals at the twilight of their lives were approached to tell their stories was eye opening in itself. I knew I had to explore it. I became curious how history is disseminated, what’s our own history (past and present), and who and how it should be told.”
Nashville Rep’s staged reading will be directed by Cynthia Harris and received dramaturgical support by Armida Thomas. The play stars Elliott Robinson as the Cedric Bartholomew, DéYonté Jenkins as Simon Brown/Young Bartholomew, Douglas Waterbury-Tieman as Albert Lockwood/Seahorn Hereford/Edgar Hereford, Maya Antoinette Riley as Avey Brown/Inez Hereford, Carrie Brewer as Elisha Barjeron/Belle Hereford, Persephone Felder-Fentress as Jo/Mary Beth, and Allyson A. Robinson as Stage Directions.
Following the reading, there will be an opportunity for the audience to speak directly with the playwright, Jonathan Payne, allowing attendees to delve deeper into the themes, inspirations, and creative process behind NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF CEDRIC BARTHOLOMEW.
“I am excited to be sharing my work with the talented and welcoming artists and audiences of Nashville Rep, and to find a new artistic home,” added Payne.
The remainder of Nashville Repertory Theatre’s 23/24 Season includes the Nashville premiere of the award-winning drama Indecent, the musical The Color Purple based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, and the regional premiere of a comedy fresh from Broadway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive. For Nashville Repertory Theatre 2023-2024 season tickets and information, visit www.nashvillerep.org.
