Empire Liquor. Los Angeles, 1991. The tragic murder of a young black girl by a Korean shopkeeper ignites deep racial divisions, fueling the LA riots.
A manor house. Scotland, 2021. Armed with cushy TV development money, a group of actors quarantine themselves to tell the Empire Liquor story.
A caustic satire about race, colonial violence, bad water pressure, and the absurdity of making art.
Join ArtYard for the culmination of playwright Peter Kim George’s ArtYard residency for a staged reading of Empire Liquor, directed by Nana Dakin. A brief talkback with the playwright and creative team follows the reading. Theatergoers are encouraged to share their responses.
This daring play was the 2022 recipient of the Dr. Kerry English Award at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and was also developed at La Jolla Playhouse’s DNA New Work Series.
This staged reading is geared towards audience members 14 and older, as it includes some adult language and inclusive content that addresses race and history. ArtYard is committed to supporting artists as they develop innovative, original art that opens pathways toward greater self-reflection, understanding, interaction, and imagination, and we believe that parents are the best people to make decisions for their families. Please join us in supporting creative incubation!
Peter Kim George’s residency is a partnership between ArtYard and Brave New Works, a unique new work incubator that re-invigorates theater as a primary cultural influence by putting a new play “in conversation” with other art forms and artists. Brave New Works produces curated events with multi-disciplinary programming (cinema, dance, visual art, music, opinion, spoken word) that reflect the world of the play and its resonance in the culture at large.
