LES
BLANCS by Lorraine Hansberry
Produced by Oakland Theater Project
WEBSITE
In the waning colonial days of the fictional African nation of Zatembe, a young Black man returns home from Europe to bury his father.
At the local medical mission, colliding interests and loyalties unfold—with inescapable consequences.
This exploration of power, politics, and liberation resists simplistic narratives of good and evil, challenging us to confront the brutal complexities of empire.
Cast
Tshembe Matoseh Jeunee Simon
Charlie Morris Champagne Hughes
Abioseh Matoseh Brittany Nicole Sims
Eric/Major Rice Monique Crawford
Dr. Marta/Ngago Ije Success
Madame Nielsen Jacinta Kaumbulu
Dr. Willy DeKoven Aidaa Perzadaa
Peter (N'tali) Rezan Asfaw
Production photos by Ben Krantz Studios
concept
This production reimagines Lorraine Hansberry’s Les Blancs through a radical shift in perspective and embodiment. By casting the play entirely with Black women, the world of the play is reframed away from colonial power structures and toward those most often forced to witness history without agency. At the center of this reframing is The Woman—the only Black female character who appears in Hansberry’s text and yet never speaks.
In this adaptation, The Woman is given voice as the narrator of the story. Her narration excavates the emotional, spiritual, and historical undercurrents of the play, positioning her not as a silent observer but as a keeper of memory and meaning. Through her voice, the audience experiences Les Blancs not as a debate about colonialism, but as a lived reckoning with its costs—on bodies, on land, and on generations of Black women who have endured, resisted, and survived. This production honors Hansberry’s radical vision by asking a further question: what truths emerge when the story is finally told by the woman who has always been there, watching?
Crew
Stage Manager: Solomon Casado
Asst. Stage Manager: Roman Rios
Lighting Designer: Dr. Stephanie Anne Johnson
Asst. Lighting Designer: M'Lisa Coleman
Sound Designer: Alex Fakayode
Projection Designer: Dilpreet K. Anan
Set Design: James Mercer II, Ashley Munday
Costumes: Lynell Simmons
Choreography: Latanya D. Tigner
Reviews
“James Mercer II has staged an excellent revival of Hansberry’s work. The pacing is brisk, the story and conflicts compelling, and the acting crisp and enthralling”
– Midbrow
“One of the best shows of the year!”
– 48 Hills
“Intricate and clever… To enter the world of the play is to be smacked upside the head with its young writer’s insight and imagination… Oakland Theater Project’s cast kills it”
– San Francisco Chronicle
