Pictured (left to right): Sheldon Brown and Daniel Desmarais

About Face Theatre has announced the cast and production team for the Chicago premiere of the political romance THIS BITTER EARTH, by Harrison David Rivers.

Directed by Mikael Burke, the two-person cast features Sheldon Brown and Daniel Desmarais. The production team includes Joe Schermoly (scenic design), Bob Kuhn (costume design), John Kelly (lighting design), Eric Backus (sound design), Catherine Allen (production manager), Helen Lattyak (stage manager) and Andrea Enger (assistant stage manager),

In THIS BITTER EARTH, Jesse, an introspective black playwright, finds his choices called into question when his boyfriend, Neil, a white Black Lives Matter activist, calls him out for his political apathy. As passions and priorities collide, this couple is forced to reckon with issues of race, class and the bravery it takes to love out loud.

“This Bitter Earth is a beautiful and unflinching play about race and relationship in contemporary America – about the need for connection and the apparent differences that hold us back,” comments Director Mikael Burke. “Jesse is black, Neil is white, and against a backdrop of police shootings and Black Lives Matter rallies, this tale of interracial love and heartache asks us: How do we save one another in this tumultuous world? How do we save ourselves? How do we navigate love in a world with so much hate? What do we carry in order to survive that we must learn to let go of in order to live?”

Launching About Face Theatre’s 2018-19 season, THIS BITTER EARTH runs November 1 – December 8, 2018 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. For more information visit aboutfacetheatre.com.