THE GREAT KHAN Comes to San Diego REP in March

San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego REP) announced cast and creative for their upcoming production The Great Khan. This National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere was featured in San Diego REP's 2021 Black Voices Reading Series and was swiftly selected for development and inclusion as a mainstage production in the REP's 46th season. The production will run March 3-27 in San Diego REP's Lyceum Space, with previews running March 3-8 and press opening on Wednesday, March 9 at 7pm.

San Diego REP's production is the second stop in the National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere of The Great Khan. The REP - an NNPN Core Member Theater - together with two additional partner Member Theaters are collaborating with Sullivan to develop the play over the course of three separate and distinct productions, all of which share the World Premiere distinction. Rolling World Premieres are NNPN's flagship program; nearly 100 plays have "rolled" since 2004, and there have been more than 600 total subsequent productions of RWP plays.

The Great Khan tells the story of Jayden, an African American teenager, who just wants to be his game-playing, nerdy self. But after he saves a girl, Ant, from an assault, he and his mother are forced to move to keep him safe from the boys who attacked her. While Jayden debates with himself if he should toughen up, Ant tries to reject the tough Black girl persona she has adopted. Both are trying to figure out how to define themselves in a culture that insists on seeing them as forever dangerous. Oh, and then Genghis Khan shows up.

The laughs come quickly in The Great Khan. With fierce conviction and playful humor, this new work reflects on the beauty of youth - that magical space between adolescence and adulthood. It also deftly addresses challenges Black teens currently face in the U.S.; issues relating to who writes history and how that can determine your present and future.