A House With No Walls

Philadelphia wants to build its new American Museum of Liberty on the grounds of George Washington's home and slave quarters. Soon a conservative academic star and a liberal political activist are confronting each other with polarizing questions of African-American identity and legacy. Elegantly juxtaposed with this contemporary conflict is the true story of one of Washington's slaves as she contemplates escape. The result is a thought-provoking drama that asks vital questions about race in America, both where we've been and where we go next.

A House With No Walls which opens November 1 at TimeLine Theatre is the third drama in Thomas Gibbons' "race trilogy," which also includes the plays Bee-luther-hatchee and Permanent Collection, both of which premiered in Chicago at Northlight Theatre. Inspired by the true story of a controversy that arose in Philadelphia in 2002 during the construction of the city's new Liberty Bell Center, the play had its world premiere in January 2007 at Philadelphia's InterAct Theatre and went on to be performed around the United States as part of the National New Play Network.

"This is a provocative and innovative play that addresses not only race relations in this country, but also the challenges that come from trying to even discuss race relations," said TimeLine Artistic Director PJ Powers. "Honestly, it's not a conversation we've had enough at TimeLine, and we're very much looking forward to engaging in that dialogue with this production."

Thomas Gibbons is playwright-in-residence at InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, which has produced six of his plays: Pretending to America, 6221: Prophecy and Tragedy, Axis Sally, Black Russian, Bee-luther-hatchee and Permanent Collection. His plays have been seen at the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, off-off-Broadway at Blue Heron Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Actors Express, Florida Stage, Unicorn Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage and others. Gibbons is the recipient of six playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a Roger L. Stevens Award from the Fund for New American Plays, a Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwriting Award, two Barrymore Awards for outstanding new play, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts.

A House With No Walls runs October 29 - December 21.  To purchase tickets or for more information, call 773-281-TIME (8463) or visit timelinetheatre.com.