James Baldwin and Britain

‘Sanctified’ by Ben Okri

Source: Race Today

Extended review of Baldwin's play, The Amen Corner, after the play transferred from the Tricycle Theatre (now Kiln Theatre) in Kilburn to the Lyric Theatre in the West End in March 1987. Okri writes: "The fact that The Amen Corner has now been transferred to the West End merely tells just how long it takes for the white establishment to catch up with the works of genuine quality that black people have been producing everywhere. This is no consolation, for the production of The Amen Corner by the Carib Theatre is elegant, intense, and very affecting." Okri finishes his review by describing The Amen Corner as "one of the most intensely moral plays currently available in this country."

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