World Premiere

Acclaimed playwright Robert O'Hara returns to The Public with a hilarious and provocative new play, which delves into the dramas at the heart of every family. Barbecue centers on The O'Mallerys, as they stage an open air intervention for drug addicted sister Barbara in their local park. Events turn sour, and soon it's the whole family, and not just Barbara, who are under the spotlight. Exploring the way family dynamics plays into wider racial and social stereotypes, Barbecue is the latest unmissable work from one of the country's most innovative young playwrights. It's directed by Kent Gash (Call the Children Home).

Robert O'Hara has a long history with The Public, having made his New York debut at the theatre back in 1996 with his time travelling play Insurrection: A Holding History. A dextrous and boundary-pushing chronicler of both the gay and black experience in America, his raucous comedy Bootycandy caused a sensation when it played Playwright Horizon's last year.