Spoons: Direct from Sold-Out NYC Run

Spoons comes to The Long Center on Saturday, December 19, at 5 PM. It's a comedy play by Ben Firke, directed by Patricia Angelin and presented by Soleil Theater Productions, an independent organization separate from the venue. The production arrives in Austin after sold-out runs in New York City and at the National Opera House of Ireland.

It's billed as "the most intimate play you'll see this year," and the staging makes a point of it: two people on one couch, and the rest left to the audience. The story follows Brad, a sportswriter who hires Molly, a professional cuddler. From there, it charts the awkward, post-pandemic comic challenge of finding human connection as the two form a fragile bond. Firke describes the play as a meditation on loneliness, recovery, and trust, and he draws on his own experiences in writing it.

That post-pandemic angle is where the comedy hits closest. The whole premise—paying someone for the kind of physical closeness that used to be free—is a funny way to look at how hard it's been for a lot of us to get back into the habit of being around people. The play keeps the focus tight on the two of them on that couch, so the humor comes from the small, uncomfortable moments of two strangers figuring out how to be near each other.

It's a one-night engagement, so if you want to see it, you'll need to make that Saturday work. Spoons plays at The Long Center on December 19 at 5 PM.