Cardboard Piano

Play


Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
2016
Genres
Drama
Time & Place
A Church on New Years Eve in Northern Uganda, 1999 and 2013
Cast Size
small
Licensor
Ideal for
College/University, Diverse Cast, Regional Theatre, Small Cast
Casting Notes

Includes late teen, adult, early teen characters

Synopsis

On New Year’s Eve in Northern Uganda, Chris, the daughter of an American Missionary and Adiel, her Ugandan girlfriend, meet for their secret marriage in Chris’ father’s church. We meet these two giddy young people brimming with love for each other and briefly distracted from the harsh reality of the violent world around them. In the late 1990s in Uganda, an increase in rebel attacks from both the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Allied Democratic Front were causing destruction and death all over the country. Chris and Adiel are no strangers to the dangers around them, and being two women in love doesn’t make them feel any safer. Their bubble is broken when a young soldier named Pika runs into the church, having fled for his life from the army that stole him as a child. He is subdued and soothed with stories and kindness, but the calm soon turns into rage and all their lives are changed forever. A return to her childhood church 14 years later reminds Chris of days she wishes to forget, and everyone is forced to confront their hideous pasts.

Lead Characters


Cardboard Piano guide sections