[PLAY] Day of Absence / Remaining Absent

Written by American playwright Douglas Turner Ward, the play premiered off-off Broadway in1965. Telling the story of a Southern town where all of its Black residents suddenly disappear. Day of Absence explores themes of whiteness and discrimination against Black Americans through its insertion of Black actors into farcical situations inhabiting white bodies.

Both satirical and sobering, Remaining Absent takes us to Super Bowl Sunday as chaos erupts when it’s discovered that every Black person in America has suddenly vanished without explanation, causing a scramble to comprehend and cope with their disappearance. In a confrontation of fears, biases, and self-interests, the absurdity of privilege is laid bare.

The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by producer-actor Robert Hooks, playwright Douglas Turner Ward, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation. The company's focus on original works with themes based in the black experience with an international perspective created a canon of theatrical works and an audience for writers who came later, such as August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, and others.

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