I am incredibly excited to be heading to the US in August to see my work performed on a New York stage for the very first time. My play ‘Eyes Full of Pornography’ has been selected from over 1,000 entries as one of the 30 finalists at the Samuel French Off Off Broadway (OOB) Festival at the East 13th Street Theater, where it will be performed on Tuesday August the 8th at 6.30pm.
Organised by the venerable play publishers Samuel French, the OOB Festival is now in its 42nd year. 30 plays are performed over one week, with a panel of theatre professionals then whittling the plays down to a final few which are then performed again on Saturday, the last day of the festival, with six of the best plays being published in an anthology. The festival has showcased the early work of many successful playwrights over the course of it’s long history, including Theresa Rebeck (author of Broadway hit Seminar) amongst many others.
I’m also thrilled to be meeting one of my playwright heroes, Will Eno, who will be guest of honour at an event to open the festival on the 7th of August.
My play tells the story of two men, Dan and Matthew, who recount how they first met many years ago in a gay bar in Greenwich Village when Dan leant over and whispered in Matthew’s ear the chilling words which would change his life forever. The director is Rachel Dart and the cast are Colin Waitt and Alexander Haynes.
Rachel Dart (Director): recent credits include Project Y’s Women in Theatre Festival, EST/Sloan First Light, and NYU’s Steinhardt School and the upcoming The Trojan Women at The New Collectives. Website.
Colin Waitt (Dan): previous credits include The Checker Game (SF OOB 2015), The Mysteries (The Flea), Kapow-i GoGo (The PIT), Versailles (This Is Not a Theater Company). He also produces Puffs, currently playing at New World Stages.
Alexander Haynes (Mathew): previous credits include Campfire at Lincoln Center, and Public Enemy at The Pearl Theatre Company. He is the voice of Talonflame on Cartoon Network’s Pokemon. Website.
Tickets for the OOB Festival can be purchased here.
More info on my play (and a short Q and A) here.