James Ijames Archives - Chicago Reader

Two people stand in red light. On the left is a Black person in contemporary male clothing, with long blonde braids and a wreath of flowers on their head. On the right is a Latino man in a black flowing shirt open deep at the neck and leather pants.

Artistic licentiousness

by Kerry Reid October 6, 2022October 6, 2022

Welcome to Florence, circa 1485, where the Medicis rule by fear and favors—and where their favorite bad-boy artist, Sandro Botticelli, is about to fuck around (literally) and find out. Canadian playwright/novelist Jordan Tannahill’s Botticelli in the Fire premiered in 2018, before COVID-19, but plague is one of the problems facing Lorenzo De Medici’s Renaissance fiefdom. […]

A colonial bedroom set. Five Black people in working clothes sit on and around a four-poster bed. On a chair to the right sits an older white woman in a dressing gown.

First Lady fantasia

by Kerry Reid September 14, 2022September 14, 2022

Right before the pandemic shutdown in 2020, TimeLine Theatre presented James Ijames’s sorrowful and powerful Kill Move Paradise, in which a group of Black men murdered by the police gather in a purgatorial afterlife, where a fax machine spits out an ever-growing list of more Black people killed by the state. At the same time […]

A Black woman in denim overalls, holding a red plastic Solo cup, stands on the left, talking to a young white man in overalls seated on her right.

Art and appropriation

by Josh Flanders March 22, 2022March 22, 2022

Of the two plays exploring race that Steppenwolf has on stage right now—King James and WHITE—the latter definitely stands out for being not only funnier, but more complex and satisfying in its critique of race, privilege, and power. Written by James Ijames and directed by Ericka Ratcliff, Definition Theatre’s production is a delightfully silly yet […]

HGA design rendering showing future street exterior view of TimeLine's new Uptown home

TimeLine marches on

by Kerry Reid August 5, 2021August 18, 2021

TimeLine Theatre unveils plans for their new Uptown home, while their longtime managing director transitions to a new role.

Bending the arc of theatrical liberation

by Kerry Reid October 9, 2020August 18, 2021

Thinking about The Boys in the Band, Broadway, and Chicago

Beyond the Canon highlights BIPOC playwrights

by Sheri Flanders June 16, 2020August 18, 2021

If you want to decolonize theater, start with the script.

Lyric, Goodman, Steppenwolf, and CSO face the music

by Deanna Isaacs April 2, 2020August 18, 2021

Major performing arts organizations recalibrate for COVID-19.

Nora Dunn on our first and worst presidents

by Catey Sullivan March 24, 2020August 18, 2021

Her show at Steppenwolf is off for now, but the ‘difficult’ SNL vet still has plenty to say.

Kill Move Paradise imagines an afterlife for victims of police killings

by Catey Sullivan February 25, 2020August 18, 2021

James Ijames puts the audience on trial in this TimeLine production.

Steppenwolf’s LookOut series opens its doors to younger companies

by Kaylen Ralph January 22, 2020August 18, 2021

First Floor’s Plano and Definition’s White connect emerging companies and established artists.

Blogs

Colin Quinn at Thalia Hall and more of the best things to do in Chicago this weekend

by Rachel Yang February 2, 2018August 18, 2021

Brodsky/Baryshnikov at Harris Theater and more goings-on February 2-4

Blogs

Victory Gardens’ Ignition Festival of New Plays reignites

by Tony Adler August 3, 2016August 18, 2021

New work by Greg Kotis, Laura Jacqmin, and Antoinette Nwandu are among the highlights of this free annual showcase.