The Great Privation, or (How to flip ten cents into a dollar)
BY NIA AKILAH ROBINSON (Soho Rep, 2025)
U.S. Premiere
1832: a mother and daughter stand vigil behind the African Baptist Church in Philadelphia at the grave of a recently deceased loved one. Today, on the same grounds: another strangely familiar mother and daughter work as counselors at what is now a sleepaway camp. Timelines collide, horrors are buried and revealed, but love never lacks.
























CRITIC'S PICK
"A defiant light radiates through this tale, and comedy shares space with disquietude."
—New York Times
"There is a lyricism to Robinson’s dialogue that belongs to both classical drama and to today’s urgent need for action, and director Evren Odcikin taps directly into each, delivering one of the year’s strongest stage showings." —Theatrely
"Robinson’s play, expertly directed by Evren Odcikin, is powerful theater that not only tells a stirring story but also spotlights characters who are connected to the past." —Hollywood Soapbox
"With Odcikin’s guidance and dressed by designer Kara Harmon in clothes that gradually merge the time periods, four excellent actors provide natural performances that anchor the mystical story within an easy semblance of reality." —New York Stage Review
"Robinson stakes a claim as a major playwright to watch with her genre-bending drama, The Great Privation. There’s an admirable ambition here, and director Evren Odcikin manages the tricky transitions between scenes of objective reality and ones of otherworldly fantasy." —Culture Sauce
"Alternately tender and hilarious… an outstanding off-Broadway debut for both the author and the director Evren Odcikin" —New York Notebook
"The Great Privation is extremely funny, complete with a rousing fourth-wall-breaking finale that will have you moving and grooving. But it won’t make you forget the hard-hitting story you just experienced." —This Week in New York