The Edge of the Universe Players 2 Present A NUMBER By Caryl Churchill

On the heels of creating two audio plays during the pandemic (The Marriage Proposal, featuring Kimberly Gilbert, Jamie Smithson and Cody Nickell, and Laughter in the Shadow of the Trees, featuring Sarah Marshall, Holly Twyford and David Bryan Jackson), The Edge of the Universe Players 2 return to in-person producing with Caryl Churchill's A NUMBER.

The production of this "moving, thought-provoking and dramatically thrilling'' play (Daily Telegraph) features David Bryan Jackson and Helen Hayes Award nominee Jacob Yeh under the direction of Stephen Jarrett. Performances run July 14 to 24, 2022 at Home Rule (3270 M Street, NW, formerly Washington Sports Club). This production is presented as a part of the 2022 Capital Fringe Festival, a program of the Washington, DC nonprofit Capital Fringe.

Synopsis: In the near future, a father reconnects with his estranged sons--but are they his sons? Multiplying lies mesh with horrifying truths about the past in this sparse, complex play that digs into complicated moral issues: cloning, identity, what makes us human, and the devastating fallout of past choices. "A tremendous play...moving, thought-provoking & dramatically thrilling.''--Daily Telegraph

"I didn't know the play before I was asked to direct it, but it had me at 'hello,' said director Stephen Jarrett. "It's a thrilling challenge for a director and two clever actors (one playing three cloned brothers). On the page, it reads like a court transcript: no stage direction, precious little punctuation. Nothing but the words, and a thousand acting choices to be made. The play is powerful. It calls for rehearsal collaboration at its most intense and intimate. This is going to be fun."

Caryl Churchill is a British playwright known for dramatizing the abuses of power, for her use of non-naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes. Churchill's plays include Owners, Traps, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, Cloud 9, Top Girls, Fen, Serious Money, Ice Cream, Mad Forest, The Skriker, Blue Heart, This Is a Chair, Far Away, A Number, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?, Seven Jewish Children, Love & Information, Here We Go and Escaped Alone. Music theatre includes Lives of the Great Poisoners and Hotel, both with Orlando Gough. Caryl has also written for radio and television.

Stephen Jarrett (Director) has worked previously with The Edge of the Universe Players 2 directing productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane, The Summoning of Everyman, and audio plays The Marriage Proposal and Laughter in the Shadow of the Trees. Jacob Yeh is a Helen Hayes Award nominee (NextStop Theatre's East of Eden) and has performed in Vietgone (Studio Theatre), Yellowface (Theater J), The White Snake (Constellation Theatre) and most recently Yoga Play (Keegan Theatre). He will next be seen in Maple & Vine with Spooky Action Theater. David Bryan Jackson's* decades of work in the DC region include working with Mr. Jarrett previously on Entertaining Mr. Sloane. Most recently, he performed in Birds of North America (Mosaic Theater Company of DC), with other productions including Hamlet (Shakespeare Theatre Company), Two Character Play (Spooky Action Theater) and Someone is Going to Come (Scena Theatre).

The production and design team includes Simone Schneeberg (Scenic Designer), JJ Hersh (Stage Manager), Lauren K. Lambie+ (Costume Designer), Steve Antosca (Composer), David Bryan Jackson (Sound Designer), Naomi Robin (Casting Director).

*Member, Actors' Equity Association

+Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829

To post a comment, you must register and login.