An English translation of Genet's classic symbolic drama, first performed in Paris in 1959. France's master of the absurd explores racial prejudice and stereotypes using the framework of a play within a play. The New York Times hailed The Blacks as "one of the most original and stimulating evenings Broadway or Off Broadway has to offer," while Newsweek raved that Genet's plays "constitute a body of work unmatched for poetic and theatrical power. " "Genet's investigation of the color black begins where most plays of this burning theme leave off. . . . This vastly gifted Frenchman uses shocking words and images to cry out at the pretensions and injustices of our world. " —Howard Taubman, The New York Times