The West Philly-based Black theatre company, Theatre in the X, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month by presenting Zooman and the Sign, a rarely-staged work by the legendary late Philadelphia-born playwright Charles Fuller. The performances will be offered to audiences for free at Malcolm X Park from August 17-20.

In the play set in Southwest Philadelphia in 1979, Zooman senselessly terrorizes his community. When he kills a 12-year-old Black girl on the street, all witnesses refuse to talk. Bereaved and infuriated, the dead girl’s father posts a sign accusing the entire community of cowardice in the face of escalating violence. The play was first presented off-Broadway by Negro Ensemble Company at Theater Four in New York City on December 7, 1980.

Theatre in the X company members said they feel that their play is relevant to the issues of community violence currently taking place throughout the city.

“Over the last ten years, we’ve always curated our productions based on what we see the community needs during each season,” says LaNeshe Miller-White, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Theatre in the X, who also plays the role of Rachel Tate in the show. “With the prevalent nature of community violence in Philadelphia right now, we felt like this was the perfect show to get people talking about what our role as citizens is in stopping the violence.”

Director Ozzie Jones, along with the ensemble, will host post-show “epilogues” that will serve as discussions to address the issues presented in the play, with a goal to empower the audience to address the issues surrounding community violence.

“How do we get past having this same conversation around these issues?,” said Jones. “After the performance we hope audience members are led to do something.”

Zooman and the Sign features LaNeshe Miller-White, Walter DeShields, Bryce Zenon, T.C “Storm” Caldwell, Jeffery Scott, Leon Alexander, Richard Bradford, Monet Debose, and Tasha Holmes​.

Admission is free and available to the public at Malcolm X Park (5100 Pine St). Audience members, who are encouraged to bring their own chair or blanket, will experience a block-party like atmosphere before the show. The rain location is Holy Apostles & the Mediator Episcopal Church (260 S 51st St). Shows are August 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. and August 19 and 20 at 5 p.m..

Theatre in the X was created in 2013 to provide the people of West Philadelphia and the African American community at large the opportunity to see professional quality theater in their own neighborhood at no cost. By removing the barriers of location and price the audience is able to experience theater that they possibly would not be able to access otherwise. Theatre in the X also provides opportunities to playwrights, actors, directors, stage managers, DJs, sound engineers and vendors of color.

For more information, visit theatreinthex.com.