Centered squarely on the Negro-white conflict both Dutchman and The Slave are literally
shocking plays--in ideas in language in honest anger. They illuminate as with a flash of
lightning a deadly serious problem--and they bring an eloquent and exceptionally powerful voice
to the American theatre.Dutchman opened in New York City on March 24 1964 to perhaps the most
excited acclaim ever accorded an off-Broadway production and shortly thereafter received the
Village Voice's Obie Award. The Slave which was produced off-Broadway the following fall
continues to be the subject of heated critical controversy.
