Laughing Wild

In 2017, Kallisti Theatre Company was founded by Elise C. Barnett-Curran with goals toward putting forth works of theatre penned by local artists or those rarely seen in the Salt Lake Valley. At Kallisti, we believe that chaos is a catalyst for creation. The goddess Eris with her Apple of Discord is the mascot of our company. We mold form from the exquisite mess of life. Our aim is to develop local theatre works, foster local talent, and celebrate all things absurd.

Christopher Durang’s 1987 work Laughing Wild is such a piece of chaos and absurdity. Two emotional, unstable, and neurotic people explode onstage with their worries, fears, and social commentary in a piece that is as hilarious as it is heightened. This nervous breakdown of a play is, we think, perfect for the times at hand: it doesn’t pull any punches while staggering around, punch-drunk with mirth and mayhem. When Durang wrote the play, the world was beginning to spin wildly with the AIDS crisis and growing anxiety over the ineffectiveness of government. The themes of the paranoia, of urban ennui, and the cult of personality are crackingly vivid in the world of today.

“Tell me, are you still enjoying my company, or do you wish I’d go away?” one character asks the audience early on. The playwright begs the same question, but those who are determined to stay the course, laugh wild amid severest woe, and keep breathing will find edification and much-needed relief in this rollicking, savage play.

We are committed to the safety of actors and audience during this time. The play will take place outdoors with social distancing measures in place. Masks are strongly encouraged to help stop the flow of Coronavirus and to protect your fellow audience members and the actors. Those without masks due to respiratory illnesses or other maladies will be accommodated at a greater distance. We please ask that if you would like to greet the actors, technicians, or one another, you do so at a distance with no hugging or touching (we know, it’s terrible and we all miss each other).

Laughing Wild starring Bryce Kamryn and Elizabeth Hanley will run July 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 9th, 10th, and 11th at The Gateway Mall on the patio space above Discovery Gateway at 7:00 p.m.