news | Saturday June 15, 2024

Hot Off the Press! Redbone Coonhound Has Arrived!

A hot new play has just come trotting back from the printers: Redbone Coonhound by Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton has arrived in a whirlwind of wit, critique, and satire. Out for a walk in their Vancouver neighbourhood, interracial couple Mike and Marissa meet a dog with an unfortunate breed name: Redbone coonhound. This detail unleashes a cascading debate between them about race and their relationship that manifests as a series of micro-plays.

An excerpt from Redbone Coonhound:

“MIKE: …“Redbone coonhound.” Really? Looking me straight in the
eyes when they said it, too … Like, really? Really?

MARISSA: Should they have not looked at you when they said it?
I think that would have been weird.

MIKE: They shouldn’t have said it at all.

MARISSA: Well, you did ask them. And it’s not like they came up
with it. They’re not nineteenth-century Quaker folk.

MIKE: They chose it.

MARISSA: If a Dalmatian was called a honky cracker, I’d
still want one.

MIKE: Disney would not have made One Hundred and One Honky Crackers …

MARISSA: Babe. (beat) You’ve got to eventually let it go. It’s just
some old-timey name that’s not connected to what you think.
(beat) You should have some fruit. You want some fruit?

MIKE: Like Adolf? Would you name your kid Adolf?

MARISSA: Absolutely not.

MIKE: Why? It’s an old-timey name that’s not connected to
what you think.

MARISSA: Because I don’t like the sound of it. Just like I don’t like
the sound of the name Jessica.

MIKE: If you met a kid named Adolf, you wouldn’t be suspicious?

MARISSA: Of what? The threat of genocide?

MIKE: Well, I don’t have that luxury.

MARISSA: Here we go …

MIKE You get to stroll through the world, just oblivious. Skipping
down Right This Way, Ma’am, Lane.

…MARISSA: Is your blood sugar low? Because you’re getting a little …

MIKE: What?

MARISSA: Fucking annoying.”

Through hard-hitting comedic elements, Redbone Coonhound explores the intricacies of race, systemic power, and privilege in remarkable and surprising ways. Grab your copy here.