Jitney

‘It don’t always turn out like you think it is. You don’t always have the kind of life that you dream about. You know what I mean?’

Jim Becker and his unlicensed drivers take the people of Pittsburgh Hill District where regular taxi cabs won’t – healing old wounds and tearing new ones as they pass the time in a condemned taxi rank between pick-ups.

Directed by Tinuke Craig (The Color Purple) and following an acclaimed run at Leeds Playhouse, August Wilson’s (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) groundbreaking modern classic explores the fragile bond between eight men as they live, love and work in a racially segregated, post-Vietnam America. Cast includes: Geoff Aymer, Leanne Henlon, Wil Johnson, Leemore Marrett Jr and Tony Marshall.

ACCESS PERFORMANCES British Sign Language: Mon 20 Jun, 7.30pm Relaxed (also audio described and captioned): Sat 25 Jun, 2.30pm Captioned: Mon 27 Jun, 7.30pm Audio described: Fri 01 Jul, 7.30pm (Touch Tour, 5.30pm)

Park yourselves at the Old Vic this summer and see August Wilson’s Jitney onstage. Book Jitney tickets in London on TodayTix.

The Jitney play explores life in 1970s Pittsburgh through events and decisions made at a taxi rank. At the start of the play, audiences meet Jim Becker, a taxi-rank manager who looks out for a group of drivers as they usher people around the city. However, his drivers go to places most taximen would avoid, notably the Pittsburgh Hill district. In the early 20th century, the Pittsburgh Hill district thrived, but over the years, many of its residents live below the poverty line.

When the taxi drivers aren't ferrying people around the city, they spend hours at the taxi rank. So much so, their place of work is now a second home. As the drivers sit and talk, they look out for one another by healing each others problems. But in a post-Vietnam America, awkward political conversations are commonplace. Throughout Jitney, eight men try to work, live and ultimately survive in a newly-segregated world.

Book Jitney tickets in London on TodayTix.

What to Watch For

• The Jitney play is one of 10 works in August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle. The Pittsburgh Cycle explore what it meant to be Black in the United States throughout the 20th century. Each play focuses on a decade — Jitney explores life as a Black American in 1970s Pittsburgh.
• August Wilson died in 2005, the same year his final play in the Pittsburgh Cycle, Radio Golf, premiered. Radio Golf eventually opened on Broadway in 2007. Wilson’s legacy is honoured with the renaming of a Broadway theatre: the August Wilson Theatre.
• This Jitney production opened at Leeds Playhouse in 2021. Jitney in London transfers to the Old Vic as part of the Old Vic’s 2022 season, including The 47th.
• Tinuke Craig directs Jitney. Craig’s previous directorial credits include The Color Purple at Leicester Curve.