In intersecting stories spanning two eras, a contemporary Black painter who hides his race goes to Germany for a show, only to find that the gallery owner has misinterpreted his work. And in the '80s a homeless teenager comes to New York to become an actor and is taken in by two gay men, who are themselves producing a new play. Titillating, taboo-testing and psychosexually insightful, this epic tale of ambition and self-invention bursts open the conceits of the worlds of art and theatre.
What Is the Story of Burning?
Burning weaves several stories from different time periods together. In one, a homeless, troubled teenager comes to New York in the 1980s to become an actor and is taken in by two gay men. In another, a contemporary black painter who hides his race goes to Germany for a show only to find that the gallery owner has misinterpreted his work. A gallery employee, in turn, has his own tragic family story to deal with, and these stories of self-invention and self-discovery connect in unexpected ways.