Race, the play, by David Mamet

What happens when an unstoppable object collides with an immovable object?

In RACE, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright DAVID MAMET asks just that as he explores the turmoil of racial relations — modern and past — in the American psyche.

When a white man of wealth and stature finds himself on the front page of the newspaper, accused of rape by a young black woman, he seeks out the services of a reputable mixed race legal team, aided by a young black female clerk who bears some striking resemblances to his accuser.

History, hatred, anger, jealousy, spite, sabotage, revenge, privilege, and mistrust all come to a rolling boil, as the partners debate whether or not to take the case, for a client who is less than forthcoming and whose motivations are suspect.

But before the lawyers can try the case in the media and the public, they must first try it among themselves and get to the “truth”, as the topic they have managed to ignore over 20 years of thriving partnership rears its beastly head.

RACE — being staged here for the first time in the Big Bend — is a searing and incisive autopsy of the American experiment that challenges audiences to examine the differences between personal and objective truths.