Spinning into Butter

Synopsis

A pristine liberal arts college campus in Vermont, where manicured lawns and ivy-covered buildings belie simmering racial tensions.

Sarah Daniels, the newly appointed dean of students at Belmont College, finds herself at the centre of a storm when racist notes begin appearing on a Black student’s dormitory door. As the college administration scrambles to address the escalating crisis, Sarah’s own complex history with race bubbles to the surface, forcing her to confront uncomfortable truths about herself and the institution she serves.

Rebecca Gilman’s Spinning into Butter is a piercing examination of institutional racism and white liberal guilt in American academia. Through Sarah’s journey of reluctant self-discovery, Gilman exposes the often well-intentioned but misguided approaches to diversity and inclusion in higher education. The play’s title, referencing a controversial children’s story, serves as a metaphor for the characters’ frenzied attempts to address racism, which ultimately lead them in circles. Gilman’s razor-sharp dialogue and nuanced characterisation challenge audiences to examine their own biases and the complexities of confronting systemic racism. Spinning into Butter offers no easy answers, instead inviting viewers to grapple with the messy, uncomfortable realities of race relations in contemporary society.