Wardell Julius Clark to Direct Timeline Theatre's Chicago Premiere of KILL MOVE PARADISE

Four young black men, torn from the world without warning, discover themselves stuck in a nebulous waiting room in the afterlife. While balancing the reality of their past and the uncertainty of their future, their souls try to find peace in Kill Move Paradise by James Ijames, receiving its Chicago premiere February 12 - April 5, 2020 at TimeLine Theatre Company.

Inspired by the ever-growing list of slain unarmed black men and women, Kill Move Paradise is a portrait of those lost-not as statistics, but as heroes who deserve to be seen for the splendid beings they are.

TimeLine Company Member Wardell Julius Clark (he/him) makes his TimeLine mainstage directorial debut staging this New York Times Critic's Pick play. The cast features Kai A. Ealy (he/him) as Isa, TimeLine Company Member Charles Andrew Gardner (he/him) as Daz, Trent Davis (he/him) as Tiny, and Cage Sebastian Pierre (he/him) as Grif, with Donovan Session (he/him) as Tiny at select performances.

The production team is Ryan Emens (Scenic Designer, he/him), Jason Lynch (Lighting Designer, he/him), Izumi Inaba (Costume Designer, she/her), Jeffrey Levin (Sound Designer, he/him), Mealah Heidenreich (Properties Designer, she/her), Rachel Flesher (Intimacy and Violence Director). Jared Bellot (Dramaturg, he/him), Dina Spoerl (Lobby Display Designer, she/her), Miranda Anderson (Stage Manager, she/her), and Sophie Hoyt (Assistant Director, she/her).

Kill Move Paradise begins previews February 12. Press Night is Wednesday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. Opening Night is February 20. Performances run through April 5, 2020 at TimeLine Theatre, 615 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. For tickets and information, visit timelinetheatre.com or call the TimeLine Box Office at (773) 281-8463 x6.

With Kill Move Paradise, award-winning playwright James Ijames takes the Elysium of Greek antiquity and flips the script. Set in a netherworld prepared for its newly deceased inhabitants, Isa, Daz, Grif and Tiny confront themselves, each other, and the audience as they try to make sense of the world they have been untimely ripped from and the purgatory they find themselves in. In the end, Kill Move Paradise is a powerful and provocative spin on recent events that illustrates the possibilities of collective transformation and radical acts of joy.

Ijames has described Kill Move Paradise as "an expressionistic buzz saw through the contemporary myth that 'all lives matter.'" It has been seen at National Black Theatre in Harlem, The Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, and Know Theatre of Cincinnati, among others. The New York Times wrote that Kill Move Paradise "radiates an urgent and hypnotic theatrical energy." Philadelphia Magazine called it "a deeply touching evening of theater" and wrote that "Ijames' writing is vividly, singularly his own [and] has something profound and important to tell us. You shall be moved." The Cincinnati Inquirer advised audiences to "lean back and allow the impact of it all to wash over you."