An arresting character study of an isolated man finding the courage to expand his world and begin again.
| Playwright | Eboni Booth |
| Publication date | 4th February 2025 |
| Publisher | Theatre Communications Group |
| Pages | 96 |
| Format | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781636702391 |
| Thematic keywords | Loneliness, community, self-discovery, trauma, friendship |
What’s the play about?
38-year-old Kenneth lives a comfortable life of routine in suburban New York: after days spent working at a used bookstore, he whiles away his evenings knocking back mai tais with his best friend Burt at the local tiki bar. But when the long-time bookstore owner decides to close up shop for good, Kenneth panics at the prospect of finding a new job—a process that unearths long-suppressed fears. When Kenneth makes a new friend named Corrina, she begins to ask questions Kenneth isn’t prepared to answer: how many mai tais is too many mai tais? And who—or what—is Burt? Primary Trust is a deeply affecting play about the careful structures we build to contain oceans of feeling and what happens when those structures begin to crumble.
Productions and critical responses
Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Primary Trust premiered Off-Broadway via the Roundabout Theatre Company to critical acclaim. The play was praised for its emotional depth and portrayal of loneliness and human connection.
A bit about Eboni Booth
Eboni Booth is a writer and actor from New York City. Her plays include Primary Trust (Roundabout Theatre, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Outer Critics Circle Award) and Paris (Atlantic Theater). She has also written for television, including Hulu’s We Were the Lucky Ones and HBO Max’s Julia. Booth is a resident playwright at New Dramatists and has received numerous awards, including the Dramatists Guild Horton Foote Award and the Steinberg Playwright Award. She is a graduate of Juilliard’s playwriting program and the University of Vermont.
