The Convert at Frank Theatre

A powerful play exploring British colonialism in southern Africa and the use of Christianity for cultural disruption.Set in 1896 Rhodesia, a young girl whose father has passed away is to be traded, by her uncle, to an older man with ten wives in exchange for a number of goats. She escapes this forced marriage by taking refuge in the home of an African teacher in the Catholic church. In exchange, she is given a new name, forbidden to practice her traditional beliefs, required to wear clothing of the colonizers, and, eventually, is cut off from her family to prove her Christian faith. As tensions in the surrounding villages grow, THE CONVERT explores the struggle between tribal customs and the ways of the British settlers, between traditional African beliefs and the Christianity brought by the colonizers. As tensions rise in the nearby villages, resistance could mean death. After producing ECLIPSED nearly a decade ago, we have been pursuing the rights for THE CONVERT and we couldnt be more thrilled to embark on this adventure, says director Wendy Knox. In some ways, THE CONVERT is a very unFrank play: its a big, historical, realistic, three-act play! Thematically, however, its right up Franks alley. During auditions, I had two actors, who were unfamiliar with Franks work, ask why I was doing this play. I answered that I thought the play was an excellent exploration of the roots of white supremacy, and that the play had much to contribute to the larger conversation we are still having, and need to be having today.

Authors

• Danai Gurira