Eden (Steve Carter play)


Eden is a 1976 play by American playwright Steve Carter. Set in the 1920s, it is the first of Carter's Caribbean trilogy. Eden explores intra-racial conflicts between recent immigrants from the Caribbean and the African-American population. The West Coast premiere of this critically acclaimed play received five Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards.

Characters

; Joseph Barton: The main character of the play. A recent Caribbean immigrant to the United States and follower of Marcus Garvey.
; Annetta Barton: Joseph's daughter. She falls in love with Eustace Baylor, an African-American from the South, which causes the central conflict within the story.
; Eustace Baylor: An African American from the rural South than falls in love with Annette.
; Solomon Barton: One of Joseph's sons.
; Nimrod Barton: One of Joseph's sons.

Plot synopsis

Set in the San Juan Hill section of New York City in 1927, Joseph Barton, a recent Caribbean immigrant and follower of Marcus Garvey discovers to his horror that his daughter is keeping company with an uneducated African American man from the rural South.

Origins of the play

Eden is loosely based on the story of the playwright's parents. Horace Carter, Sr., a native of Virginia, and his wife, Carmen, who was born in New York of Caribbean descent, lived in New York City at the time of their son's birth.

Original off-Broadway production

In 1985, Carter wrote the screenplay A Time Called Eden, based on his play. It was set to go into production the following year, however, to date, the project remains unproduced.

Awards and nominations

Awards