pulling at the roots: three plays about northampton history
|
Circling Suspicion
by Talya Kingston |
Rose
by Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed |
The Optimist's Razor
by Patrick Gabridge |
Pulling at the Roots is a series of three site-specific plays that
move the audience through three centuries of Northampton history.
move the audience through three centuries of Northampton history.
Staged in the historic Shepherd Barn and on the grounds of Historic Northampton
at 46-66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Commissioned by Historic Northampton, the plays are produced by Plays In Place,
a Florence, Massachusetts theatre company that brings historic stories to life with site-specific plays.
a Florence, Massachusetts theatre company that brings historic stories to life with site-specific plays.
Rose
by Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed
Set in 1750
Rose explores a fraught exchange in 1750 between famous cleric Jonathan Edwards and
Rose, who is enslaved by Edwards, as they face being forced to leave Northampton.
by Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed
Set in 1750
Rose explores a fraught exchange in 1750 between famous cleric Jonathan Edwards and
Rose, who is enslaved by Edwards, as they face being forced to leave Northampton.
Reverend Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) a leading figure in the American Enlightenment and widely regarded as one of America’s most important and original philosophical theologians. He oversaw some of the first revivals at his church in Northampton. He lost his daughter Jerusha to illness in 1747 and she is buried in the town cemetery. In 1750, he was in the process of being removed from his position as the minister of Northampton due to his extreme views and unwillingness to bend.
Rose was a woman enslaved in the Edwards household, who was taken from her home in West Africa and brought to America in the slave trade. In 1750, she was unbaptized, and in love with Joab Binney who was a tradesman and had bought his freedom through his skills of blacksmithing and tannery.
Rose was a woman enslaved in the Edwards household, who was taken from her home in West Africa and brought to America in the slave trade. In 1750, she was unbaptized, and in love with Joab Binney who was a tradesman and had bought his freedom through his skills of blacksmithing and tannery.
Learn more about Rose Binney and Joab Binney by visiting the Historic Northampton webpage, Expanded Biographies of Both Enslaved People and Free Black People.
