Suzan-Lori Parks, the groundbreaking playwright and the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, shares insights into her illustrious career. She delves into the complexities of love and identity in her recent work, 'Sally and Tom.' Parks reflects on her upbringing in a military family and its influence on her creativity. She discusses the emotional journey of theater, the dual nature of artistic recognition, and her new novel alongside the music of her band, Sula and the Joyful Noise.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks discusses her latest play 'Sally & Tom', exploring the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. They dive into America's trend of revising history and the importance of confronting our nation's past as an act of love. The conversation touches on the complexities of portraying historical figures in art and the power of plays to convey impactful messages about racism and history.

This week, Lilah speaks to Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, whose new show Plays for the Plague Year asks us to remember, process and grieve the pandemic. Suzan-Lori is best known for her 2001 play Topdog/Underdog, which was reprised on Broadway in the autumn. But her new show is different: she wrote one short play a day through the pandemic, and collected them into a lively, music-filled theatrical event. Suzan-Lori and Lilah talk through big questions: when is the right time to look back? What does ‘back to normal’ mean? What can and should we do with our memories? And how do you create complex art about difficult things?--------------Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap. --------------Links:– Plays for the Plague Year by Suzan-Lori Parks is running at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater until April 30 https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2223/plays-for-the-plague-year2/ – Suzan-Lori’s Pulitzer-Prize winning play is Topdog/Underdog: https://bookshop.org/p/books/topdog-underdog-suzan-lori-parks/10486222?ean=9781559362016   – The FT interviewed Suzan-Lori and Cynthia Erivo on the alchemy of Aretha Franklin (2021): https://on.ft.com/3V120Jt–Suzan-Lori is the playwright in residence at the Public, and does a regular virtual ‘watch me work’ session over zoom for people to get writing done together, and ask her questions: https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2122/watch-me-work/--------------Our US edition of the FTWeekend Festival is back! Join Jamie Lee Curtis, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alice Waters, your favourite FT writers, and more on May 20 in Washington, DC, and online. Register now and save $20 using the promo code weekendpodcast at ft.com/festival-usSpecial offers for Weekend listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial are here: http://ft.com/weekendpodcast.--------------Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips in this episode courtesy of The Public TheaterRead a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.