The Rebel Bird

Confronted with unbelievable racism and intense poverty, along with other issues spilling out of those root causes, Jason Williamson was commissioned to write our second play in the Global Play Initiative.

The resulting play, The Rebel Bird, explores issues of prejudice, poverty, and human trafficking on the Roma people. The play features Yeva, a Roma woman imprisoned in the seediest of Prague brothels. Her only comfort is singing the songs of her childhood with her brothers, who appear from her memory. When the intuitive henchman of an NYC millionaire hears Yeva’s voice, he buys her for his boss, who is obsessed with owning his own version of opera’s most infamous “Gypsy”: Bizet’s Carmen. And so, in a posh Manhattan penthouse, Yeva is dragged into a battle for survival that may erase her—body and soul. Colliding the music of Bizet with that of a live Roma band, this lyrical thriller exposes the scars of prejudice, poverty, and human trafficking on the disenfranchised and enfranchised alike.  

By shedding light on complicated issues of discrimination, cultural identity, and human trafficking, this play aims to foster dialogue, awareness, and understanding about each of our unique perspectives.

Directed by Kathleen Amshoff

Artistic Director: Jesse Baxter
Executive Director: Mary K. Baxter
Producer: Tom Costello
Dramaturg & Narrator: Christen Madrazo
Interpreter: Petra Slováková

Featuring Lukáš Hudák, Milan Hudák, Ján Koky, Jonathan David, Nick Lehane, and Lucia Šipošová

Photos by Petra Slováková

Presented with the generous support of the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia and Divadlo Andreja Bagara

>> More The Rebel Bird workshop PHOTOS

>> More original DAT PLAYS