Cast and Creative Team Set for THE HANDLESS KING at Amphibian Stage

Amphibian Stage has revealed the complete cast & creative team for The Handless King by Harley Elias, the third Main Stage offering in their 25th Anniversary Season. Patrick Bynane and Parker Gray will play Ubru and Dilgan, respectively, returning to the roles after playing them in the SparkFest 2023 reading performances. They are joined by Ahmad Kamal, playing the Administrator, known to Amphibian audiences for his work in Baba by Denmo Ibrahim (2023) and SparkFest 2023. The production is helmed by the organization’s Co-Artistic Director, Jay Duffer, who comes to The Handless King fresh off directing Second Thought Theatre’s sold-out production of Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning.

Playwright Harley Elias was inspired to write The Handless King after seeing a relief carving from 728 BCE depicting two scribes recording information in two different writing methods. Elias envisioned them as two scribes from different generations, completely at odds with each other. Despite the ancient setting, the dialogue and themes are abundantly relevant to modern day. “Having The Handless King in SparkFest was a utopic theater moment for me, and is the reason this play exists. The incredible direction of Jay Duffer, the artistic vision of Kathleen Culebro, and the cast and crew lifted this play up and made it what it is now. It's a dream come true to bring it to life in a production at Amphibian and get to continue the work with Jay. It feels like the play is coming home,” Elias says.

The Handless King creative team features many artists returning to Amphibian Stage. This team includes Leah Mazur as Scenic Designer (AS: The Visit), Shahrzad Mazaheri as Costume Designer (AS: The Pleasure Trials, Baba), Eric Watkins as Lighting Designer (AS: Baba), Isabella Barnett as Props Designer (AS: The Hollow, Spaceman, Miss Molly, The Visit), Evan Michael Woods as Projection Designer (AS: Egress, The Pleasure Trials, Marie Antoinette, Miss Molly), and David Lanza, Resident Sound Designer. Nathan Autrey joins Amphibian Stage for the first time as Fight Choreographer. Director Jay Duffer is already relishing in the unusual demands that The Handless King presents to him and his designers.

“Often Directors are warned not to work with animals and children, but what about blood and body limbs?!? Ha! Challenge accepted. Actually, figuring out the unique challenges of this play has been incredibly fun. The creativity and spontaneity of these gifted actors along with Nathan's ingenious fight sequences all led by Harley's vision to push comedic boundaries has been a very freeing experience. This script is a rare gem. At a time when the world feels so overwhelmingly complex, throwing severed limbs at each other during rehearsals ironically has brought healing laughter. This dark humor is right up my alley. Man's savagery is so painfully prevalent throughout history fully up to and into our modern times. If we can laugh at our basest nature, then comedy ultimately reminds us not to give into those impulses,” he says. Duffer is well known for his directing work across the metroplex and will assume the sole title of Artistic Director starting in 2025 when Founding Artistic Director Kathleen Culebro departs.

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