Photos: First Look At SLEEPING GIANT At Know Theatre

Know Theatre of Cincinnati's 26th MainStage season kicks off with a splash as we bring Steve Yockey’s monstrously funny new dark comedy about creeping fascism, cosmic horror, and butterflies to life on our MainStage. See photos of the production below!

Sleeping Giant is a new tale from master storyteller Steve Yockey, whose previous works at the Know include Pluto, Mercury, Heavier Than …, and the smash hit The Fisherman’s Wife. Steve has recently received widespread acclaim (and an Emmy nomination) as the 

showrunner for HBO’s The Flight Attendant; he’s also helming Netflix’s much-anticipated forthcoming Neil Gaiman adaptation Dead Boy Detectives – we’re elated to be the first theatre in town to showcase the work of this singular American voice! 

Sleeping Giant is packed with sharp wit, wild imagery, and fast-paced action, but it’s also an incisive look at what happens when people wait too long to fight back. 

If you brush past the mass of tentacles, at the heart of Sleeping Giant is a story about the dangers of slow-growing totalitarianism, the risks of cult mentality, and how far people will twist to look away from immediate and looming danger. 

It’s about the lengths people will go to so they can insist “this is fine,” even as they sit in the heart of a fire. 

Sleeping Giant is for anyone who digs the contemporary spin on cosmic horror in Lovecraft County, the lightning-fast dialog and worldview-bending antics of The Good Place, or the moodiness and head-spinning plot twists of the oeuvre of Stephen King. It’s for people who are gearing up for the Barbie/Oppenheimer double-feature, because they relish high-style comedy and existential horror in equal parts. 

It’s for anyone looking for an unusual date night opportunity that will spark unexpected and deeper conversations on the ride home, and for anyone who likes to see themselves and their experiences reflected in pop culture. 

Meet the monster’s acolytes: 

Making her MainStage debut is Brianna Miller as the Naïf. Fans of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival may have seen Brianna as the titular Lady Ferrers in The Highway Woman at 2023’s Cincy Fringe. 

Returning to the Know are Tess Talbot as the Convert and Jared Earland as the Raconteur, both of whom were featured in last season’s production of Dickless. Tess’s other Know credits include Shock!, The Girl in the Red Corner, Ada and the Engine, and our most recent Yockey-penned comedy Mercury, while Jared has also appeared in Puffs: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic. 

Rounding out the cast is Ryan-Chavez Richmond as the Messenger, who has previously been seen on the Know stage in Harpers Ferry 2019 and Sunrise Coven. 

Dive into the deep end of human nature as our 26th season opens with Sleeping Giant. 

Sleeping Giant runs August 4 - 20. Tickets are available on our website, knowtheatre.com, or by calling our box office at 513-300-5669. 

Special Note: Evening performances at the Know are now at 7:30! Our Underground Bar will open at 6:30 for evening shows this season; come by early for specialty cocktails and conversation before or after your show.

Photo Credit: Dan R Winters

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