Indefinite Postponement: Stage lights go dark on Invoice

Invoice for Emotional Labor, slated to be the latest production from Wilbury Theatre Group, has been indefinitely postponed, artistic director Josh Short confirmed to Motif Tuesday evening. The cancellation comes on the heels of sexual assault accusations against the show’s playwright and star, Christopher Johnson. The accusations appeared recently on locally focused social media groups. 

Johnson, an internationally known poetry slam champion and local playwright, produced the one-man show in collaboration with Wilbury and Community College of Rhode Island with support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. The show itself was inspired by John Leguizamo’s “Latin History for Morons,” and Johnson tells stories and provides insight into his experience being both an artist-educator and Black person in America. Johnson covers racial etiquette, historical facts not taught in school, cultural differences, unconscious bias, cultural appropriation and more. 

Wilbury has no plans to reschedule the show at this time, said Short. Johnson could not be reached for comment in time for this posting.

Post amended May 19 at 9:30pm. The last sentence of the first paragraph was made more specific and the last sentence was updated. Mr. Johnson did respond to our inquiries, just not in time for this article.

Update September 2022: As of this update, accusations made against Johnson on social media remain unsubstantiated. Motif has pursued more information through social media channels, but has not been able to confirm any accusations.