'It don't always turn out like you think it is. You don't always have the kind of life that you dream about. You know what I mean?'
Jim Becker and his unlicensed drivers take the people of Pittsburgh Hill District where regular taxi cabs won't – healing old wounds and tearing new ones as they pass the time in a condemned taxi rank between pick-ups.
August Wilson's groundbreaking modern classic explores the fragile bond between eight men as they live, love and work in a racially segregated, post-Vietnam America.
Jitney received its British premiere at the National Theatre, London, in 2001, when it won the Olivier Award for Best New Play. This new edition was published alongside the 2021–22 revival by The Old Vic, Headlong and Leeds Playhouse, directed by Tinuke Craig.
'Thoroughly engrossing… Jitney holds us, its audience, in charmed captivity'
— New York Times
'Soaring, profound and fantastically vibrant… More than perhaps any other contemporary dramatist, Wilson writes real people, living real lives'
— Time Out New York
'Jitney, a masterful and garrulous piece of naturalism, is a play of rending and mending, an exploration of how we rip apart ourselves, each other, the fabric of a city, and how we might then go about patching what we have torn'
— Guardian
'Rich, poignant drama'
— Telegraph
'A powerful, intense study of characters tackling problems caused by class, race and generational divide'
— The Stage
'A thrillingly vivid slice of history that resonates powerfully today... a stunning, richly textured piece of work'
— Evening Standard
'A masterclass in theatre... a triumph'
— Reviews Hub
Olivier Award for Best New Play
About the Author :
August Wilson (1945–2005) was an American playwright, best known for his series of ten plays, collectively called The American Century Cycle, which chronicles the African-American experience over the course of the twentieth century. It comprises Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II and Radio Golf.
He won numerous prizes and honours, including two Pulitzer Prizes and the Humanities Medal from the President of the United States.
Review :
'Thoroughly engrossing… Jitney holds us, its audience, in charmed captivity'
'Soaring, profound and fantastically vibrant… More than perhaps any other contemporary dramatist, Wilson writes real people, living real lives'
'Jitney, a masterful and garrulous piece of naturalism, is a play of rending and mending, an exploration of how we rip apart ourselves, each other, the fabric of a city, and how we might then go about patching what we have torn'
'Rich, poignant drama'
'A powerful, intense study of characters tackling problems caused by class, race and generational divide'
'A thrillingly vivid slice of history that resonates powerfully today... a stunning, richly textured piece of work'
'A masterclass in theatre... a triumph'
'Exquisite... bursts off the page... The richness with which Wilson writes his characters is a gift to any actor... Wondrous and captivating'
