ABBY PAIGE

During the pandemic, I had the good fortune to participate in a number of on-line readings of plays in progress. Remember those days of on-line-only theater? I am not nostalgic — except perhaps for the fact that, at the time, lots of people were making new work. And there is something especially exciting about a new play, how it conjures a whole world out of nothing. Playwrights astonish me! I’m always happy when I see a new play being produced because, while the tried and tested plays we know and love are wonderful, there is something deeply brave and courageous about a play meeting its first audiences.

…Which is why I’m so pleased to join the cast of Sam and Jim in Hell, Vermont playwright Jeanne Beckwith‘s new play that places Samuel Beckett and James Joyce in an unfortunate circumstance and asks them to make sense of it — not what either of them was particularly known for making. (I participated in a pandemic reading of an earlier draft, and it’s been so exciting to see how it’s grown and changed!) The show is in part an homage to two literary giants, but it also asks pertinent (and maybe somewhat impertinent?) questions about “literary geniuses” and their legacies. Whether you love these two writers or hate them or hardly know them, you’ll enjoy spending some time with them in the underworld.

Sam & Jim in Hell
Lost Nation Theater
October 5-22, 2023
Thursday/Friday/Saturday at 7:30pm
Sunday at 2:00pm

Hope to see you there!

NOTE: The City of Montpelier is still recovering from this summer’s disastrous, historic floods and will be for a long time yet. You can donate to recovery efforts here or to a broader, statewide fund here.