Behind the Sheet

By Charly Evon Simpson
Directed by Ron Himes

 In 1840s Alabama, Philomena assists a doctor, her owner, through experimental surgeries on her fellow slave women in search of treatment for a common post-childbirth complication. This compelling work challenges what history remembers through the women who experienced these involuntary surgeries, and reframes the very origin story of a great medical breakthrough. This production was made possible in part by the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project. Additional support from The Black Rep's Sophisticated Ladies and Caleres.