Chain is an American solo performance play by Pearl Cleage. It tells the story of a 16-year-old Rosa, an African American teenager addicted to crack who has been chained to a radiator in her family home as an intervention attempt. Chain debuted in 1992 at the Women's Project in New York, starring Karen Malina White.
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Plot
"The action revolves around the character Rosa Jackson, a sixteen-year-old drug addict whose parents have chained her to the radiator in their Harlem apartment in an attempt to save her from herself. As the drama unfolds, Rosa reflects on how she became an addict and struggles to choose between a life with drugs or a life without them."
Productions
Chain debuted at the Women's Project in New York City in 1992, starring Karen Malina White as Rosa. It was released on a double-bill with another one-act play by Cleage, Late Bus to Mecca.
The play has been staged in cities including Washington, D.C. (2002), Kalamazoo, Michigan (2015), and Houston, Texas (2018).
