About the Show

A new Anne Washburn play about loss, community, and survival in rural Northern California.

Set in a fog-covered corner of Northern California, this world-premiere play follows an intentional community striving to live self-sufficiently while sheltering from a turbulent outside world. When an unexpected death unsettles the group, their ideals and sense of independence are put under strain. The story weaves together themes of grief, ritual, and resilience, with elements ranging from a pageant and a rescue to pigs and a resurrection.

Written by Anne Washburn and directed by Steve Cosson, the production marks the latest collaboration between the two artists, whose previous works include Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play and A Devil at Noon.

Critic Reviews (9)

Critic’s Pick: "This is a quieter wow of a show... it takes its time at unspooling the narrative — frustratingly at first, then tantalizingly, and building to a final third in which whimsy, horror and splendor exist side by side."
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"The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire is a slow burn, the kind of work that sticks to you and makes you jump in the middle of the night after you leave the theatre."
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"Beautiful and fascinating, it is by no means satisfying. That’s true to life, but it makes for frustrating viewing in the theater."
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[Washburn] she offers no clues, preferring to strip away anything that might make her characters sympathetic, urgent, or recognizably human. They discuss every situation, including sexual liaisons, cremation, and the criminal cover-up of an apparent suicide, with the dispassion of graduate students in a seminar on Immanuel Kant.
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"Unlike Mr. Burns, though, the elements don't quite cohere, and the play fails to reward the mental effort required to piece its ideas together."
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"The excellence in writing, performance and staging cited above applies to nearly all of The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire as it explores the human dynamics chafing within this commune. "
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Anne Washburn’s new play makes use of whimsy, the supernatural, the sinister, and conflicting stories.
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"The opacity just feels like Washburn and Cosson have decided the world of the play is less interesting than its formal qualities–and the result is a cornucopia of experiments across genre and style"
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