New Play “Good Grief” Relies on Lived Experience

Ngozi Anyanwu, Nigerian-American playwright, wrote and stars in a new play about growing up Nigerian in suburban Pennsylvania. The story is her own. Historically, black female playwrights have been ignored. Today, there are more than ever. Anyanwu began writing in order to develop roles she wasn’t seeing, such as Nigerian-American roles.

The play is personal, reflecting Anyanwu’s own experience. She has lead the project from the beginning stages, and having someone with her perspective in charge has no doubt lead to the realness of the play in the stage it is in now. This reminded me of our frequent discussion of the value of lived experience in intersectionality. A white man, for example, would not have been able to write these roles or this storyline the same way. Anyanwu is able to provide a perspective that has not been heard.