Synopsis
Drama Desk Award nominee A Small Fire follows John and Emily Bridges, a long-married couple whose happy, middle-class lives are upended when Emily falls victim to a mysterious disease. As her senses are slowly stripped away—smell, taste, sight—Emily resolves to remain engaged with her community, relying on John to run her company and experience her daughter Jenny’s wedding. But her stoic outlook reaches a breaking point when the disease steals her hearing, leaving her nothing but touch to communicate with the world. Suddenly, she is completely dependant on the husband whose endless devotions she had always taken for granted.
Reviews
“The play is raucous, funny and unexpectedly touching, as we are made intimate witnesses to a frank demonstration of how much of life, of love and of happiness remain within reach even when so much appears to be lost.” – The New York Times
Read full review.
“A Small Fire is a small play, tightly focused and written close to the vest, but its small virtues are numerous and meaningful; in retrospect, they begin to loom very large.” – The Village Voice
Premiered at Playwrights Horizons, NYC
Directed by Trip Cullman
With Reed Birney, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Michele Pawk and Victor Williams
