This week marks a new show hitting the stage from Inis Nua Theatre, and it’s only going to play in the city for 15 performances.
‘Meet Me At Dawn’ will run in the City of Brotherly Love starting on Feb. 17, and Philadelphians can catch the production until its last night on March 5. The show, from Scottish playwright Zinnie Harris, will play at the Louis Bluver Theatre (302 S Hicks Street) at The Theatres at the Drake for the duration of its run.
“I’m excited to offer the American premiere of a Zinnie Harris play, who’s beloved (and award-winning) in the UK but new to American audiences,” said Inis Nua’s new Artistic Director KC MacMillan in a statement.
MacMillan continued: “’Meet Me at Dawn’ is mysterious, almost mystical, but it’s also deeply human and surprisingly funny. It offers the kind of magic only theater can do–the magic of a profound story, unexpectedly revealed, as audiences share intimate space with the performers.”
The show’s plot revolves around two women, Helen and Robyn, who wash up on shore after a boating accident. Together, they start to look for a path home but “find that this unfamiliar land is not what it seems —and that, though they may be together, they have never been further apart.”
‘Meet Me at Dawn’ is officially described as a tender, lyrical fable exploring the mystery of grief and the triumph of everyday love. For its run in Philadelphia, Sam Tower will direct Hannah Gold and Jackie Soro in the leading roles—and it also happens to be both of their Inis Nua debuts.
“What I love most about Zinnie Harris is how she writes her two characters as gorgeously human and flawed,” said Tower in a statement.
“Anyone who has experienced a romantic partnership will see themselves in Helen and Robyn. They are two women who know each other so deeply, who know each other’s habits and tells, but are still mystified by the puzzle of figuring each other out,” Tower continued. “Telling the queer love story of two women in their thirties that’s filled with tenderness, humor, unanswered questions, with a supernatural twist—that’s not an opportunity that comes along often for me as a director.”
‘Meet Me at Dawn’ kicks off Inis Nua’s second show in the return of their mainstage season, with the first being the sold-out run of ‘Ten Dates with Mad Mary.’ The show has two preview performances on Feb. 15 and 16 and opens officially on Feb. 17. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday shows start at 7 p.m.; Saturday shows start at 8 p.m.; and Sunday shows start at 2 p.m.
Tower finished in a statement describing the show: “I’m very excited to see that dream-space come to life through Jill Keys set design and J. Bean Schwab’s props. Isabella Gill’s lighting will give the audience the feeling of floating along a misty shore line, and Eliana Fabiyi’s sound design will guide the characters through several layers of reality. I think Tiffany Bacon’s costumes will make you feel like you know Helen and Robyn personally.”
Tickets are $30 each for general admission and offered for $15 for seniors, students, and theatre industry professionals. Tickets can also be purchased as part of a 2022-2023 Mainstage season subscription package including ‘Meet Me at Dawn’ and ‘Hymn’ (April 12-30) for a total of $50. Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased by visiting inisnuatheatre.org/
