Other Inland Empires at Portland Playhouse

When writer/director Julie Hammond learned that Gidget, the quintessential California girl and 1950's spark of a global surf boom, was really the Jewish daughter of Austro-Hungarian refugees, she began to imagine events in reverse. What would happen if a California-born Jew went to Central Europe to learn to surf?

Armed with an audio recorder and faith in sun and waves, Hammond travelled east in a quest to weave her surf-bum family with her grandmother's Holocaust survival, and a hope to discover the details of her family's silence.

Performed by Stephanie Wong, Dominique Hat, Bana Biltaji with live music from Matthew Ariaratnam, this new play is part travelogue, part adventure, and part meditation. In this world, the Holocaust brushes up against inflatable seagulls, a lost tooth holds hands with a lost earring, and palm trees slow dance with identity politics.

Other Inland Empires comes to Portland from Vancouver, BC following performances at the 2019 rEvolver Festival (The Cultch, Vancouver, BC) and the 2018 Fury Factory Festival of Ensemble Theatre (San Francisco, CA).

Limited Run! 5 shows only!
June 26 @ 7:30pm (preview), June 27-29 @ 7:30pm, June 30 @ 5pm

Julie Hammond is a theatre maker and instigator of public projects who works between Vancouver, BC and Portland, Oregon. From 2005-2015 she was a company member with Hand2Mouth, and recently directed Object Karaoke (2019) for Hand2Mouth in collaboration with Artists Repertory Theatre. She was last seen on stage in Portland as Mike in Hand2Mouth's Time, A Fair Hustler.