About the Show

A writer’s retreat unravels into a tense clash between imagination and reality.

Elliott, a writer struggling with persistent creative block, isolates himself in a remote cabin in hopes of forcing a breakthrough. As he delves into a new thriller, the separation between his fiction and his lived experience begins to blur, leaving him uncertain about what is imagined and what is unfolding around him.

The play written by David Cale, whose work often explores intimate psychological terrain (Harry Clarke). Direction is by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman (Violet, Kung Fu), bringing her detailed, character-focused approach to the piece. The creative team also includes Studio Bent (sets), Sarah Laux (costumes), Cha See (lighting), Caroline Eng (sound), and composer Isobel Waller-Bridge.

Critic Reviews (9)

“The Unknown is hypnotic, which is another way of saying that its pleasures are very quiet ones.”
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"as a theatrical mind game that leaves a mark or raises a shiver, The Unknown left me wanting"
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“Hayes is always good company, but a thriller can only go so far into the familiar.”
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"That sturdy sense of narrative determinism does shrink the play’s horizons, keep it packaged tightly, and make it consumable. It’s just the kind of thing that might sell well to a movie studio."
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“The narrative of ‘The Unknown’ is ingenious and full of corkscrewy twists without tumbling into implausibility.”
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“ 'The Unknown' is an altogether sedate sit, sporadically livened up by the presence of its marquee star."
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“A dramatic perpetual motion machine radiating horror and suspense, it’s guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat, hanging on every word.”
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"The Unknown may be [Cale's] most accessible piece yet, a low-key thriller so cunningly constructed that you won't see where it is headed until just before the final blackout."
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