A new DAWN on stage at Everyman Theatre
After a long, winding development saga that has taken it and its author criss-crossing the country, a brand new play is set for its world premiere at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, directed by Seonjae Kim. The play is Dawn, the author is playwright Tuyết Thị Phạm, and the production runs February 1st through March 1st–with more information and tickets available here: https://everymantheatre.org/event/dawn/
Part of a planned trilogy of plays that, in various ways, circle around family, culture, and identity, Dawn centers on the intimate story of a mother and daughter. It’s a tale particular to their circumstances and the modern history of Vietnam and Cambodia, hewn from the playwright’s own experience and observation, but also as universal as parents and children anywhere.
In this instance, the two have just lost their translator, their buffer, their mediator, and the fulcrum of their tenuous balance with the death of the husband/father. Now they confront a difficult legacy of love and loss, sacrifice and service, the spoken and the unsaid–all set against a backdrop of generational trauma. Behind them lie conflicting versions of the past and long-buried secrets; ahead lies possible healing and reconciliation. And the only way through comes from telling hard truths and shattering deeply held convictions.
Phạm shared some thoughts about the complex dualities that the play entails: the blurry ambiguities, the complicated math of sacrifice and self, the balance of personal and political, the thorny parent-child relationship. Our conversation is here:
In addition to regular performances, Everyman will host an AAPI-themed Lantern Day celebration on February 15th, to which all are welcome, and a post-performance talk with the playwright on February 19th. Again, more information is available here: https://everymantheatre.org/event/dawn/
