Burbage Theatre Co presents CLYDE'S by Lynn Nottage, a Rhode Island premiere play

"Clyde’s" is a contemporary comedy set inside a truck stop sandwich shop, where a group of formerly incarcerated workers are given a fragile opportunity to rebuild their lives. Under the constant pressure of a controlling and demeaning owner, the kitchen staff navigate long hours, limited choices, and the lingering consequences of systems designed to keep them marginalized. What begins as routine, often degrading labor gradually transforms into something more meaningful as the workers find connection, purpose, and creative expression through their shared pursuit of the perfect sandwich.

Two-time Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s play balances biting humor with deep empathy, examining incarceration, economic precarity, and workplace exploitation without losing sight of joy, wit, or humanity. As the staff experiment with ingredients and techniques, their culinary ambition becomes an act of self-definition and quiet resistance. In the kitchen, collaboration replaces isolation, craft replaces despair, and imagination becomes a means of survival. The sandwiches they create are not just meals, but expressions of dignity, pride, and hope.

By turns laugh-out-loud funny and quietly devastating, “Clyde’s” is a play about work and worth, about second chances that are never guaranteed, and about the stubborn belief that people are more than their pasts. Nottage offers a clear-eyed portrait of the working class while celebrating solidarity, creativity, and the possibility of redemption found in shared labor.

Burbage Theatre Co presents the Rhode Island premiere of “Clyde’s” as part of its 14th season. Directed by Jeff Church, the production runs for 13 performances from March 19 through April 12 at the Wendy Overly Studio Theatre, located at 59 Blackstone Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The production continues Burbage’s commitment to ensemble-driven storytelling and contemporary plays that speak directly to the world we are living in now.

Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3466221-0?pid=10404

Date and Time: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 19:30 - Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:30

Venue details: Burbage Theatre Co, 59 Blackstone Avenue, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 02860, United States