The Wilma to stream ‘Kill Move Paradise,' about black men slain by police, to benefit Black Lives Matter Philly
Black Lives Matter Philly will receive all the proceeds from the stream of Kill Move Paradise by the Wilma Theater.
The Wilma Theater announced Monday it is streaming Kill Move Paradise, which centers on the theme of slain unarmed black men by police in the United States.
All the proceeds from the video presentation of Kill Move Paradise, which started at 3:30 p.m. June 8 and runs through June 21, will benefit Black Lives Matter Philly. To view the production, ticket buyers will need to donate any amount to Black Lives Matter Philly via Wilma Theater’s website (tickets.wilmatheater.org/donate/i/killmoveparadise). Wilma staged Kill Move Paradise in 2018.
"The streaming of this production of Kill Move Paradise is an opportunity for us to use what we do best to raise awareness and money for Black Lives Matter Philly, which is working tirelessly towards transformative justice,” playwright James Ijames, who is Wilma’s co-artistic director, said in a statement. “This play contains a lot of pain, a lot of sorrow, but I hope it also offers my own community a space of healing and hope.”
In the play, four young men, including a 12-year-old boy, all victims of police brutality, wind up in a waiting room in the afterlife, hoping to enter Paradise. Together, they come to grips with their fates, offering moments of vulnerability, anger, and joy. Earlier this year, the play earned rave reviews in Chicago. Kill Move Paradise was staged live until March 12 and then offered via remote viewing in April by the TimeLine Theatre Co.
Directed by Blanka Zizka, Wilma’s co-artistic director, Philadelphia’s Kill Move Paradise cast includes Avery Hannon, Anthony Martinez-Briggs, Brandon J. Pierce, and Lindsay Smiling — all veterans of local productions. Ijames also teaches theater at Villanova University.