Silver Line Theatre Exchange invites audiences to experience Rajiv Joseph’s raw and unflinching play, “Gruesome Playground Injuries,” for three weekends in July.
Directed by Peter Zazzali, the gritty exploration of pain, healing and fractured intimacy will be performed Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. on July 10 to 12, 17 to 19 and 24 to 26 at Silver Line’s downtown venue.
Spanning 30 years, “Gruesome Playground Injuries” follows Kayleen and Doug, whose relationship is built on physical and emotional scars — from broken bones and bouts of self-harm to lifelong traumas. Their encounters, at once jarring and tender, chart how individuals can both wound and keep each other alive. As Joseph writes: “We don’t fix each other. We just keep each other company while we fall apart.”
At a cultural moment when mental health is in the spotlight, Joseph’s script confronts uncomfortable truths. By chronicling Kayleen and Doug’s physical traumas alongside their emotional bruises, it asks: Can lasting bonds be built from broken pieces? And how does witnessing another’s pain forge an unbreakable, if fraught, connection?
Joseph, who holds a master’s in Dramatic Writing from New York University, was born in Cleveland. His first play, “Huck and Holden,” was performed off-Broadway in 2006. His 2009 play, “Bengal Tiger,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Robin Williams performed the lead character in a 2011 Broadway production.
His plays have been performed at the Steppenwolf Theatre, Alley Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. and Mark Taper Forum. His 2018 play, “Describe the Night,” won the Obie Award for Best New American Play. A co-writer of films “Draft Day” and “Army of One,” Joseph wrote two seasons of TV series “Nurse Jackie.”
The one-act “Gruesome Playground Injuries” was first produced in 2011 and is Joseph’s most-produced play. Audiences are advised that the production contains themes of self-harm, suicidal ideation, mental illness and adult language, and is recommended for ages 15 and older.
Tickets are $35 per person and available online.
Silver Line Theatre Exchange, 211 N. Lewis St., Staunton, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded in 2020 with a mission to challenge and enrich audiences through intimate, high-quality performances. The professional production connects working artists with production opportunities and introduces the local community to incredible professional talent available in regional theatre.
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Rebecca Barnabi
