Scapegoat Initiative presents "Keely and Du"

This summer, Durham welcomes a new theatrical company, Scapegoat Initiative. Founded by Durham-based actor and activist Arin Dickson, Scapegoat Initiative seeks to be an unconventional, daring, and empowering source of art in Durham. Our artistic and political goals are rooted in engaging viewers in social, economic, political, and environmental activism while celebrating intersectionality and uplifting the marginalized voices that surround us.

The company opens its doors with Jane Martin's controversial 1994 Pulitzer-nominated satire Keely and Du. It is a taut drama that chronicles the fate of pregnant kidnapping victim Keely, held for months in a suburban basement-turned prison. The play focuses on Keely’s evolving relationship with her seemingly warmhearted adversary Du, a fundamentalist Christian woman who guards Keely to prevent her from terminating her unwanted pregnancy.

According to director Dustin Britt, "the rampant eradication of reproductive rights in the United States has entered a new era -- a shamelessly fascistic one. Decades of progress toward reproductive justice is being undermined before our very eyes. With this play, we want to bring audiences face-to-face with the key players in this battle for survival. Hopefully we can get past the hypotheticals and statistics and really understand the intimate, human cost of these draconian abortion bans."

Recommended for ages 18+.