Fences is a 1985 play by American playwright August Wilson. Set in the 1950s, it is the sixth in Wilson's ten-part "Pittsburgh Cycle". Like all of the "Pittsburgh" plays, Fences explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. The play won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play. Fences was first developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 1983 National Playwrights Conference and premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1985. Plot The focus of Wilson's attention in Fences is Troy, a 53-year-old working-class head of household who struggles with providing for his family. The play takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; although never officially named, it makes mention of several key locations in Pittsburgh. In his younger days, Troy was an excellent player in Negro league baseball and continued practicing baseball while serving time in prison for a murder he had committed during a robbery. Because the color barrier had not yet been broken in Major League Baseball, Troy was unable to get into the MLB to make good money or to save for the future. He now lives a menial, though respectable, blue-collar life of trash collecting; later in the play, he remarkably crosses the race barrier and becomes the first Black truck driver in Pittsburgh instead of just a barrel lifter. Troy lives with his wife, Rose and his teenage son, Cory. He has a younger brother Gabe, a World War II veteran whose war injury to his head has caused him noticeable psychological damage. Gabe had received $3,000 from the government, and Troy took control of this money to purchase a home for his family, including a room for Gabe. A short time before the play's opening, Gabriel has rented a room elsewhere, but still in the neighborhood. Lyons is Troy's older son from a previous marriage, and lives outside the home. Bono is Troy's best friend and co-worker. The play begins on payday, with Troy and Bono drinking and talking. Troy's character is revealed through his speech about how he went up to their boss, Mr. Rand, and asked why Black men are not allowed to drive garbage trucks; Rose and Lyons join in the conversation. Lyons, a musician, has come to borrow money from Troy, confident that he will receive it, and promises to pay him back because his girlfriend Bonnie just got a