Celia, a Slave

This was such an emotional and difficult play to read. Celia, a Slave by Barbara Seyda is actually based on a true story. Celia was a female slave who killed her owner after years of terrible abuse in 1855 and ended up being executed for her "crime". She was only 19 years old and was a mother. I would love to see this on the stage but as it is, the play resonates with all of the horror, outrage, anger, prejudice, and grief in the words themselves. It really is a powerful play and I am not surprised that it won the Yale Drama Series Prize. I would also like to see this play adapted into a novel as well. Very highly recommended reading about a part of history we must not forget.

Four out of Five Stars