CRADLE to Debut at The Riant Theatre's Strawberry One Act Festival

CRADLE, a riveting new relationship drama about a British girl intent on joining ISIS and the mother equally intent on stopping her, has been selected as a featured play by Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival.

The world premiere performances of CRADLE - written by Jean Bergantini Grillo and directed by Michelle Macau -- are set for Friday, March 22, at 7:30 pm; Saturday, March 23, at 5 pm; and Sunday, March 24, at 1 pm, at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios, 244 W. 54th Street. Tickets, priced at $25, are available from therianttheatre.com or 646-623-3488.

Sandy Singh plays Lila, a 16-year-old Londoner infatuated with ISIS who seeks to run away and join them. Niche Rajan is her immigrant mother Meena, eager to assimilate, who will risk anything to stop her. Paul Eisemann is a detective caught between his pursuit of Lila and a growing attraction to Meena. Anna Bredikhina rounds out the cast.

"I was moved by recent news reports relating the nightmares faced by young female ISIS recruits eager to return home to the UK," said Macau, "so I jumped at the opportunity to direct CRADLE, which tackles similar issues through a highly relatable story of mother-daughter love."

"During the time spent developing this play at the HB Studio, we had no idea this subject would suddenly burst into its current degree of public consciousness," said Grillo. "Now, with the ISIS caliphate on the verge of defeat in Syria, I'm proud to dedicate CRADLE to all the mothers, daughters and their families who thave been torn apart by the group over the years."

Jean Bergantini Grillo's playwriting career launched when she won an HB Studio Theatre Virginia Woods Playwriting Scholarship in 2004. Her plays have included That Afternoon at Frank Campbell's (a top 3 audience favorite, 2013 Short Play Lab); Drive by Duet andThe Office (Massachusetts Cultural Council's Culture Park Short Plays Marathon, 2008, 2016); and Blow by Blow (Midtown International Play Festival, 2010).

Michelle Macau's directorial work has appeared at The Ensemble Studio, the Samuel French Competition, Venice Playwrights Festival, Open Eye Theatre, American Theatre of Actors, Primary Stages, The Public Theatre/Delacorte/NYSF, The Los Angeles Theater Center, and other venues. She studied at HB with Uta Hagen and Carol Rosenfeld, and has an MFA in directing from Carnegie-Mellon.

Sandy Singh, holder of an MFA in Acting from the UK's Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, was born and raised in Guyana and earned a BA from Queens College.

Nishi Rajan, also a full-time lawyer and founder of the human rights non-profit Leading Light Foundation, has directed and produced the Off-Broadway Indian musical, The Rajah's Son & Princess Labam.

Paul Eisemann studied acting with Maggie Flanigan at the Esper Studio, and movement with Loyd Williamson and Anna Sokolow. Previous shows include A Few Good Men and Cuckoo's Nest.

Anna Bredikhina graduated from LaGuardia and holds four undergraduate and graduate degrees from CUNY and Columbia. She can be seen in the short film, Woody Pax, currently on Amazon Prime Video.

About the Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival

The Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival will be presented at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios(244 West 54th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue) Wednesday, March 13th through Sunday, March 24th, 2019. This winter's festival, marking the 32nd season of the renowned short play competition, will feature the premieres of eight full-length one-act plays, including CRADLE. Reflecting the diversity written into the mission of its presenter, the festival has produced over 1,500 one-act plays since it began in 1995.

Tickets for all performances during the Strawberry One-Act Festival are priced at $25 advance/$27 at the box office. Tickets are on sale now through therianttheatre.com or by calling 646-623-3488. Festival Pass discount packages are also available upon request.

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