Nathan Alan Davis is a playwright from Rockford, Illinois, now living in New
York. His produced plays include Nat Turner in Jerusalem (NYTW, 2016; New
York Magazine Critic’s Pick), Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea (NNPN Rolling World
Premiere, 2015, Los Angeles Times Critic’s Choice, Steinberg/ATCA New Play
Citation) and The Wind and the Breeze (Cygnet Theatre, San Diego, forthcoming
in 2018). Nathan is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, a Lecturer
in Theater at Princeton University, and a 2016 graduate of Juilliard’s Lila Acheson
Wallace American Playwrights Program. He received his MFA from Indiana
University and BFA from the University of Illinois.
-
Nat Turner in JerusalemA Play
NAT TURNER
What do you mean by your copyright?
The right to copy?
THOMAS R. GRAY
Yes, well, the right to publish and distribute, which involves copying necessarily.
NAT
And who can grant such a right?
THOMAS
The copyright office, naturally.
NAT
...
THOMAS
It protects the rights of the man who has done the work.
NAT
And is God not a sufficient witness of our works?
THOMAS
Uh,
No.
Nat Turner in JerusalemPremiered in2016- Print Books
- Samuel French
-
Dontrell, Who Kissed the SeaA Play
COMPANY [SHEA]
I wish my veins were rivers to the ocean,
COMPANY [DAD]
And my surging heart a bay.
COMPANY [MOM]
My sanity proclaims that blood is but blood,
COMPANY [DANIELLE]
And hearts are hearts,
COMPANY [ROBBY]
And what is lost is lost,
COMPANY [SHEA]
And by that logic, I am driven mad.
DONTRELL
Forgive me, future, what I have left undone. Forgive me, that I never learned to swim. How
strange: a wanderer on life’s sea, who cannot swim
Dontrell, Who Kissed the SeaPremiered in2014- Print Books
- Samuel French
-
The Wind and the BreezeA Play
SAM
I’ll sit on the cooler.
RONDA
No, I’ll sit on the cooler.
SAM
It’s my cooler. You can’t sit on it.
RONDA
Well.
This some kinda view.
SAM
You wanna ice cream sandwich?
RONDA
Sure.
SAM
You wanna cup of ice with that?
RONDA
No, I’m good.
SAM
You sure? This good ice. This ain’t no grocery store ice, this gas station ice.
The Wind and the BreezePremiered in2018
“. . . while offering a corrective to earlier interpretations of Turner’s narrative, Davis doesn’t attempt to saddle it with an equally overbearing one; he resists any singular reading, let alone an overtly political one. He prefers to let the tale remain as mysterious and open-ended as possible, and thus, in its way, more terrifying." —New York Magazine [on Nat Turner in Jerusalem]
“A mesmerizing blend of magical realism and poetic social comment. . . " —The Los Angeles Times [on Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea]
"Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea breaks over us like wave upon wave of human love and hope, submerges us in honesty, buoys us by its bold vision and heartfelt voice. . . this beautiful new play is an absolute must." —DC Metro Theater Arts
Selected Works
- Print Books
- Samuel French
- Print Books
- Samuel French
Nathan Alan Davis is a genuine poet of the theatre, charting new territory for lyrical drama. Play after play showcases his uncanny gift for allegory and language, boiling down the large narratives of the African-American past to the scale of individuals wrestling to express themselves. He exhibits unwavering command of styles and textures, from vaulted diction to teen slang. His verve, emotional intelligence, and ambition are outstanding.