Growing up in Southbridge, Massachusetts the acclaimed playwright Mfoniso Udofia rarely saw stories about Africans and African Americans that felt true to her own family. Inspired in part by August Wilson’s Century Cycle, she set out to create a cycle of nine plays that follows one Nigerian American family through three generations.

Titled the Ufot Family Cycle, all nine of those plays will be produced as part of a two-year city-wide festival in Greater Boston. Led by the Huntington Theatre Company, a wide range of local cultural organizations will collaborate on the project. With the first play of the cycle, “Sojourners,” onstage now, Mfoniso Udofia and the Huntington’s artistic director Loretta Greco join The Culture Show to talk about launching this unprecedented endeavor. “Sojourners,” is on through December 1st. To learn more, click here.

From there the writer Andre Dubus III joins The Culture Show. His nine books include the New York Times’ bestsellers “House of Sand and Fog,” “The Garden of Last Days,” and his memoir, “Townie.” His most recent novel, “Such Kindness,” was published in June 2023, and today he joins the show to talk about his latest work, a collection of personal essays, “Ghost Dogs: On Killers and Kin,” Andre Dubus teaches writing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. To learn more about his upcoming appearances and events, click here.

November 4, 2024 - The Ufot Family Cycle and Andre Dubus III

The Culture Show Podcast