What’s In A Word

What’s in a Word is a short play mostly written and delivered in the dynamic art form of Slam Poetry/Spoken Word. The play fuses street vernacular and academic language to unpack the etymology of the N-word and the well documented debate concerning its usage in music and everyday conversation. The word itself is not used in the script, but this does not detract from the intensity of the dialogue. Strong and insightful arguments in favour of and against the continued usage of the word are made in a showdown between two different schools of thought through clever word play and references to historical and current events. What’s in a Word gives voice to a variety of widely held points of view on this extremely controversial issue, providing individual audience members with the opportunity to see themselves represented in the discourse while encouraging them to give respectful and critical consideration to the thoughts and opinions held by others as well.