The Appalachian Plays

In the spirit of Martin McDonagh's Leenane Trilogy, Creighton James' three period Appalachian plays explore the intricacies of one isolated community. With scenes that range from ironic dark-comedy to devastating high tragedy and then whip around to near farce, the plays capture the many dramatic struggles of rugged mid-19th century mountain life, while illustrating the joys of the storytelling traditions inherent in its people. In "Feud," the Civil War has ended and the lynching of a returning Union soldier sets off a bloody war between two mountain families. Thus begins the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud. "Burn" is a chilling Appalachian ghost story sown from the darkest hours of America's past. When three youths go in search of a local myth, they find a mysterious man eager to prove that "sometimes the truth is worse than the tale." In "Holly," a brutally injured Civil War soldier, stumbles into the cabin of his estranged mother. As she nurses him back to health, the vengeful spirits of the hills lead him to the crossroad of his hardest battle yet. And in "Am I Born To Die?" a young woman relives her past in search of meaning in the untimely death of her alcoholic father.