November 2023, Playhouse 22

The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess is a full-length play that takes place at an elite college in the Northeast. In this 2 character piece, we see a conversation on race, history, and power go to an ultimate high as emotions and personalities clash between a professor and her student. This play does an incredible job of exploring the humanity of the two central characters. It presents an interesting challenge for a director and actors alike–they are given the task of making these characters human. Making them more than what they stand for, yet still all of what they stand for, and making them likable. Making it so that the audience cares about what happens to them in the end. The note from the author at the beginning of the piece states, “Both of these women can be noble. Both of them can be charming. Both of them can be petulant, snotty, arrogant, overwhelmed, and immature. Let them both be people.”