Lab Theatre

The university's black box performance space was established as a laboratory for students to explore new ideas and put classroom studies to practical use. Today it's another stage where you can enjoy compelling live theatre.  This season, get up close with a true American classic, as well as two masterpieces of this generation.

The Lab Theatre is located at 1400 Wheat St., between Sumter and Pickens, in the Booker T. Washington Building. Show times are 8 p.m. nightly unless otherwise noted. Tickets cost $10 per ticket and are sold online or at the door. Arrive early for best seating. Performance dates, times and locations are subject to change.

2019-2020 Lab Theatre Season

I and You

November 20-23, 2019

Written by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by David Neil Edwards

Two high school students — the sardonic Caroline, homebound with a serious illness, and Anthony, a popular athlete — find themselves forced to work together on a last-minute class project. As they strive to overcome their clashing personalities and make sense of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, they find themselves connecting in ever more surprising and mysterious ways. Lauren Gunderson’s critically acclaimed play is a poignant ode to youth, life, and love, and packs a surprise twist that will have you thinking about it long after it’s over.  2014 recipient of the American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award.

Of Mice and Men

February 29 - March 3, 2020

Written by John Steinbeck
Directed by David Britt

John Steinbeck’s theatrical adaptation of his classic novella still packs the same gut-wrenching punch as when it premiered on Broadway in 1937. Set in the fields of California during the Great Depression, the story follows two migrant drifters, short-tempered George and his simple-minded but physically powerful companion, Lenny. After they find employment at a new farm, the two friends strive to work hard and realize a shared goal of owning their own land, but their American dream is soon threatened by the boss’ brutish son and their involvement in a fatal tragedy.

God of Carnage

April 22-25, 2020

Written by Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Nick Good

The rules of civility are tested — and ultimately demolished — in Yasmina Reza’s powerfully provocative, Tony®-winning script. A playground skirmish between two eleven-year-old boys results in two broken teeth and a meeting between the boys’ parents to discuss the altercation. Diplomacy soon degenerates into pandemonium as the four adults confront barely concealed prejudices that transform once-polite conversation into a state of unbridled savagery.
Tony® Award winner for Best Play, 2009.