Our Lan’
(1947)
Theodore Ward (Playwright)
27 September – 01 November, 1947
Set in the closing moment and just after the Civil War, the play is comprised of two stories. The first, is that of a community of recently emancipated freedman who settle an island plantation off the Georgia coast given to them by General Sherman’s order and promised to them as part of post-war land reforms. Their struggle to make the land prosper and a betrayal by the government sets the scene for a second story. The second story focuses on the central character, Joshuah Tain, a “humble, but charismatic leader” who emerges among the freedmen. His character represents the spirit of the freedmen as well as the challenges inherent to being a community leader with a complicated interior life and personal goals and desires. At the center of Joshuah’s story is his growth as a leader and his love affair with Delphine, a former slave caught between two worlds. She is tempted to retain a slave mentality while also compelled to rebel and become a free and equal citizen of post-war America. (Source: “Theodore Ward's Our Lan': From the Slavery of Melodrama to the Freedom of Tragedy” by Owen E. Brady)
