Trouble in Mind

A radical satire of racism in theatre, widely considered the masterpiece of actress and playwright Alice Childress.

In 1950s America, protests for racial equality erupt in the face of voter suppression.

On Broadway, Wiletta Mayer, a talented black actress, begins rehearsals for a new play about racism – written and directed by two white men. When Wiletta finds that her arguments to tell the truth of the story are dismissed, she decides to take action.

Trouble in Mind was premiered Off-Broadway at the Greenwich Mews Theatre in 1955. Scheduled to open on Broadway in 1957, Childress objected to the requested changes in the script that would 'sanitise' the play for mainstream audiences, and the production was cancelled as a result. Its Broadway premiere eventually came in 2021, at the American Airlines Theatre.

Childress's final version of the play is published in this Theatre Communications Group edition, along with an essay by American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Trouble in Mind had its UK premiere at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in 1992, and was revived at the National Theatre, London, in December 2021.