What spirals when an absent father reaches out to his son over Instagram with no apologies, no remorse, and 20 years’ worth of unanswered questions? Written and performed by the son of a mother who tried, Savon Bartley tells a story about what boys become in the absence of men. It’s about the inheritance of silence, the ache of uncertainty, and the miracle of breaking the cycle. Written entirely in verse, Holes in the Shape of my Father is a poetic reckoning with manhood, memory, and what it means to grow up without a father.
Holes in the Shape of My Father is a blues about boys becoming men. Written and performed by Savon Bartley, this solo show is told entirely in verse, where poetry, rhythm, and raw emotion collide. Developed at The Public Theater and featured at the Under the Radar Festival, this one-man play explores fatherhood, masculinity, and generational trauma with lyrical grace and unflinching vulnerability.
2025
2024
The Public Theater
2023
The Public Theater
2022
The Public Theater
2020 – 2022
The Public Theater
2017 – 2019
Rooted in the tradition of the blues, he writes to document the scope and sweep of Black life in America. Through poetry, performance, and the rhythms of modern language, he blurs the line between poem and song while exploring race, culture, love, mental health, and masculinity.
As a poet, Savon’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Slate Magazine, Afropunk, Great Weather for Media, and The Odyssey. His poems have been published in The Careless Embrace of the Boneshaker Anthology, Liquid Sunset, and his most recent collection Uncut Blues
A former competitive slam poet, he placed third in the world at Brave New Voices (2013) and has spent the last decade as a touring artist, educator, and speaker. From The Apollo Theater to the United Nations General Assembly, Savon has performed on global stages and alongside artists such as The Wu-Tang Clan, JID, and Common.
Savon is a proud alumnus of The Public Theater’s #BARS Lab and Devised Theater Working Group in New York. His debut play, Holes in the Shape of My Father, premiered Off-Broadway at The Public Theater’s 2023 Under the Radar Festival.
His theatrical work has been featured in Broadway World, New York Amsterdam News, and Playbill, and continues to explore the intersections of language, memory, and music.
