Columbus’s newest theatre company, The Sound Company, is thrilled to announce the opening of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, running May 5 – 7, 2022 at the Columbus Performing Art Center’s Van Fleet Theater. In this darkly humorous and unconventional love story, Doug and Kayleen navigate friendship, heartbreak, and an onslaught of physical and emotional injuries. The play follows them from accident-prone children to self-destructive adults while exploring how seen and unseen trauma shapes their relationship.
The play will be directed by Sean Ryan Naughton and star Connor Graham as Doug and Jess Hughes as Kayleen. The rest of the production team is made of up current students from The Ohio State University, including Chloe Garrett (assistant director), Skylar Kyser (stage manager), Ladini Wallace (set designer), Katie Harvey (costume designer), and Yasmine Kashubeck (lighting designer). The production is funded in part through a grant from The Ohio State University’s College of Arts and Sciences.
After each performance, the creative team will host a brief peer-to-peer community conversation with the help of the Outreach & Engagement Team at OSU STAR Trauma Recovery Center to talk about how we can effectively relate, listen, and take care of one another in moments of crisis.
Please note: Gruesome Playground Injuries contains references to physical and emotional abuse and sexual assault; sexual content; self-harm; misogyny and sexism; and depictions of violence.