Slave Play

Act One begins at McGregor Plantation, a southern cotton plantation in pre-Civil War Virginia.[10] The first act chronicles three private meetings and sexual encounters of three interracial couples. The play begins with the song "Work" by Rihanna playing in the McGregor's overseer cottage.[11] Kaneisha, a slave, begins to twerk to the song when Jim, an overseer, walks in holding a whip. Jim is repeatedly uncomfortable when Kaneisha calls him "Master," but berates her for not cleaning the room better and throws a cantaloupe on the ground and tells Kaneisha to eat it. As Kaneisha begins to eat the cantaloupe off the ground in a dog-like manner, she begins to dance again, which confuses and arouses Jim.[12] The overseer then initiates sex with Kaneisha.[13] When she asks to be called a "nasty, lazy negress," he instead proceeds to perform cunnilingus [12]

The scene transitions to the boudoir of Madame McGregor, the wife of Master McGregor. Madame McGregor, or Alana, calls upon Phillip, her mulatto servant, and asks him to play the fiddle. Phillip begins to play Beethoven's Op. 132. Alana stops him, calling European music boring, and asks him to play "negro" music (19-20). Phillip begins to play “Ignition” by R. Kelly. While he plays, Alana dances suggestively, then begins grinding on Phillip. She says she is under Phillip's mulatto spell and she wants to be inside of him.[12] She then uses a dildo to penetrate him, asking him if he likes being in the woman's position.[14] Phillip replies that he is unsure.[12]

The last couple is introduced in the McGregor's barn. There, Dustin, a white indentured servant, and Gary, a black slave, are together. Gary is in charge of Dustin and taunts him, finding it humorous that he is in charge of a white man because of Dustin's status as an indentured servant. Gary kicks Dustin down and asks Dustin to dust his boot. He calls him "Boot Dustin" and tells him that he is lesser than other white people.[12] The song “Multi-Love” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra begins to play. The two fight before they engage in sexual intimacy.[2] Gary tell Dustin to get on the ground and has him lick Gary's boot clean; this causes Gary to orgasm. He suddenly starts crying and cannot be comforted by Dustin.[12]

The scene shifts back to the other couples. Phillip keeps playing music that Alana does not like on his fiddle and Kaneisha and Jim are engaged in doggy style sex. As Kaneisha begins to near orgasm and asks to be called a "negress." Wven as Kaneisha nears orgasm, Jim stops participating when Kaneisha calls him "Masta Jim". Jim then switches to speaking in a British accent and tells Kaneisha that he is not comfortable with the situation.[12] Jim uses his safeword,[13] which is "Starbucks," to end the encounter.[12]

Suddenly, new characters in modern clothing, Patricia and Teá (also an interracial couple[14]) come into the room. They recommend for the three couples to meet back at the main house soon.[12] It is revealed that in reality the characters are modern couples participating in a role-playing exercise meant to improve intimacy between white and black partners.[13]

The second act is dedicated to a contemporary group therapy session among the three couples.[10] The two therapists speak through affirmations and academic jargon for most of the session.[15] They are on Day Four of the therapy, which is meant to treat anhedonia, the inability to experience sexual pleasure. Day Four focuses specifically on fantasy play. Dustin begins by noting that Gary came, which he could not do before, but Gary counters that Dustin was uncomfortable in making his whiteness hyper-visible. Alana says she enjoyed the release of the fantasy, and asks Phillip if he enjoyed it too, noting that he got an erection when he had trouble before.[15]

Jim keeps interrupting speakers with laughter; Teá asks him to unpack his thoughts and emotions, especially since he was the one who said the safeword. Jim is confused and overwhelmed by the therapy. Teá clarifies that the therapy, titled Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy, was designed to help black partners feel pleasure again with their white partners. Jim is uncomfortable with playing the role of the slave overseer and finds the experience traumatizing for him and his wife, which frustrates Kaneisha. He says he feels he is ruining his relationship with Kaneisha. Kaneisha voices that she felt betrayed.[15]

After Patricia and Teá read back to the group what they have said, Alana points out that mostly white men are speaking. Dustin proclaims that he is not white. Dustin and Gary get back into an old argument over Dustin wanting to move into a more gentrified neighborhood. Dustin does not see his own whiteness, and Gary feels that by self-identifying as not white he erases Gary's identity.[15]

Phillip, who has not spoken much, says that the therapy seems fake to him. Alana speaks over him, saying she is still upset about Jim saying the safeword.[15]

Patricia and Teá explain the origins of Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy in treating anhedonia. The two of them shaped it as their thesis together at Smith and Yale. Patricia, who keeps speaking over Teá, explains that they are a couple. They state that anhedonia is caused by racial trauma, passed down through history: black partners may be unable to orgasm in sex with their white partners is because of “Racialized Inhibiting Disorder." Teá previously experienced anhedonia with Patricia, and it was through fantasy play that she worked out her racial trauma. With Teá's background in black feminism and queer theory and Patricia's background in cognitive psychology they are foregrounding the study through their academic background and experiences in their own relationship. They mention a list of symptoms associated with Racialized Inhibiting Disorder, such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and "musical obsession disorder."[15]

Phillip says none of his partners are able to see him as black and he struggles with being mixed race. Gary asks why music was playing during the fantasy play. Teá respond that they did not play music, but certain people have associations with particular songs due to "musical obsession disorder." Kaneisha says she felt in control during the fantasy play, and Jim took that away from her when he used the safeword; Gary agrees with her but Phillip does not. It is revealed that Phillip and Alana met because her ex-husband had a cuckold fetish, and that when Phillip was with her under those pretenses, he felt sexually excited because he was viewed as black. Alana insists it had nothing to do with race, and now that they are in a committed relationship Alana views him as a complex person. Alana breaks down. Gary confronts Dustin, asking why he always says he is not white. Gary questions why they are still together, and he and Dustin almost get into a fight before Patricia and Teá break it up.[15]

Jim starts to read something he wrote on his phone. He does not understand why Kaneisha looks at him with disgust, like he is "a virus," nor does he know what he is supposed to do about it. Kaneisha validates what he says, realizing that "virus" is the description she has been searching for. She tells him that he does not listen to her, and she knows that the problem in their relationship is not in her, but in Jim's race.[15] She refers in particular to the extermination of the indigenous peoples of the Americas by European colonialists.[2] She confronts Patricia and Teá, saying they are wrong in their theorizations of black desire.[15] Kaneisha is overwhelmed as “Work” by Rihanna begins playing again.[15]

In the third act,[10] Kaneisha is packing in a room when Jim comes in. Jim and Kaneisha talk through their feelings about the therapy and recount how they met. Kaneisha reflects on her childhood, specifically on having to visit plantations on school field trips. She tells him that she fell in love with him, a white man, because he was not American.[16] Jim begins to initiate foreplay while Kaneisha says that the relationship went downhill when she stopped feeling sexual pleasure three years ago. It was then that she began to recognize Jim's whiteness and power, even though he did not, and understood that, though he is not American, his whiteness is also related to colonialism and historical abuses. She say that reading about Antebellum Sexual Performance Therapy made her feel sexual again, and Jim pushes her down.[16] Jim returns to his overseer role and orders Kaneisha to have sex with him, until she says the safeword and they stop. Kaneisha thanks Jim for listening.[17]