August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean

A drama by August Wilson, presented at the Young Vic in London. The play belongs to the Pittsburgh Cycle, the ten-play sequence in which Wilson traced African American life across the twentieth century.

Gem of the Ocean is a stage drama by August Wilson, the American playwright whose Pittsburgh Cycle follows Black families in the city's Hill District decade by decade. It is the opening chapter of that sequence and moves back to the start of the twentieth century, when its characters are searching for a sense of community, dignity and moral direction.

As a play, it is performed as a theatre show, with the spoken exchanges and long, reflective scenes that characterise Wilson's writing. The Young Vic, the London theatre presenting this production, is the venue for the performance and its auditorium is where the audience follows the action.

The production will suit anyone interested in American drama and in the history of Black communities in the United States, and those who want to see one of Wilson's major works on a London stage.