Fences

Synopsis

Troy Maxson is a garbage collector working in 1950s Pittsburgh. Having once dreamed of being a major league baseball player, he was too old when the league began admitting black players. Trying to be a good husband, father, and brother to a sibling severely mentally impaired from fighting in World War Two, Troy is plagued by illiteracy, addiction, and anger at being denied his rightful chance at the big time. When his eldest son expresses interest in going to college on a football scholarship Troy forbids it, as he increasingly takes his frustration out on those closest to him. Based on August Wilson’s classic play, this is a riveting, topical drama about the breakdown of the family unit, driven by internal demons and wider societal factors.