Theatre Exile's production of Rajiv Joseph's non-linear two-hander about the relationship between Kayleen and Doug from age eight to 38.
Theatre Exile brings Gruesome Playground Injuries to South Philadelphia from October 29 through November 15, with opening night on Thursday, November 5, at 7 PM. It's a non-linear two-hander by Rajiv Joseph that follows two characters, Kayleen and Doug, from the age of eight up to thirty-eight. Their reunions are triggered by an injury or a bad decision, and the scenes move backward and forward in time as the scars pile up. Jenna Kuerzi plays Kayleen and Daniel Burgess plays Doug, with Deborah Block directing.
This isn't the first time the play has crossed the company's stage. Theatre Exile first produced it in 2011, which was their first production of Joseph's work in Philadelphia. Producing Artistic Director Deborah Block calls it "a perfect Exile show," a coming-of-age story that lets the audience see the vulnerability people hide. The staging relies on lighting to guide the shifts in time and costumes that age the characters from childhood into adulthood.
The run is part of the company's 30th season. Theatre Exile has been a South Philadelphia mainstay since 1996, when it started producing wherever it could find a stage; it now has a permanent home at 1340 S. 13th Street and a reputation for taking risks and developing new work. That track record includes the Barrymore-nominated Wolf Play, the award-winning The Whale, and the world premiere of Abandon by Pulitzer Prize winner James Ijames.
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Single tickets start at $10. There's also a $45 Flex Pass that covers four single tickets valid for any show date this season, so if you're planning to catch more than one thing, that's the better move. The run goes from October 29 to November 15, with opening night on Thursday, November 5, at 7 PM.
