August Wilson’s 1987 Pulitzer Prize winning play Fences is a landmark work of American theater. Now here’s the first teaser for the film adaptation directed by and starring Denzel Washington. Washington assumes the role of Troy Maxson, a garbage collector in 1950s Pittsburgh whose dreams of baseball glory were cut short by the major league’s discrimination against black players. Wilson’s story charts Troy’s fraying relationships with the members of his family, including his wife, Viola Davis’ Rose. While the trailer mostly centers on a tense exchange between Troy and his son Cory (Jovan Adepo)—implying that the film is not going to shortchange Wilson’s powerful dialogue—it ends with striking work from Davis, delivering Rose’s pivotal speech.
Though the movie isn’t due out until the end of the year, Washington and Davis have already won acclaim playing these parts: both were awarded Tonys for their work in the 2010 Broadway revival of the play. Fences is set to hit theaters December 25.