the north american premieres of
two one act plays by Ellen McLaughlin

RUNAWAYS
&
CONVERSATIONS AT THE RETURN OF SPRING

directed by Jon Michaelson

performed by
Kayla Brabant
Laura Dae
Cameron Helmkay
Tristan Moore
Vanessa Whyte
Anya Reynolds-Swannie
Astrid Van Wieren

set & lighting by Graham Maxwell

costumes by Eveline Petrusma

music by Rinde Eckert

NOVEMBER 18-29, 2026
@ VideoCabaret

tues-sat @ 7:30pm + sat/sun @ 2:30pm

tickets: adults $25
students, seniors $20
online via videocabaret.yapsody.com
‍ ‍ limited seating - 60 seat capacity

RUNAWAYS

“Point your body like an arrow into the world and run.”

Emily, circa 1690's

Molly, circa 1750's

Jenny, circa 1930's

Lil, circa 1900's

Lizzie, circa 1850's

RUNAWAYS explores the heartache, hardships, and survival strategies of women fleeing from the harm men have inflicted on them.

An old diner in Fall. Four young women, each from a different era, all the worse for wear, sitting at tables. Irish Molly, a runaway indentured servant from the 1750’s, dressed to pass as a boy. Lil, a runaway sharpshooter from the 1900’s, wearing a gunbelt. Emily, a runaway Puritan from the 1690’s. Lizzie, a runaway slave from the 1850’s. Jenny, a 1930’s runaway wife, is the last arrival, shaking the snow from her hair. An ‘eternal’ Waitress hovers, offering the women coffee, and empathically inquisitive hospitality, while they share their stories of fear, discrimination, abuse, and fugitive flights, before they leave the sanctuary of the diner to take to the road again, alone, seeking safety, and a respite from men's cruelty.

CONVERSATIONS AT THE RETURN OF SPRING

“Let us meet this poisoned spring and see it through.”

CONVERSATIONS AT THE RETURN OF SPRING is an incisively entertaining take on the loving but fraught relationship between the goddess of agriculture Demeter, and her Hades-banished daughter Persephone, as they reunite to confront the environmental degradation of planet Earth by human beings.

They argue about the unfortunate results of Demeter’s gifts to humanity, and the value of people as a species. Is humanity a glory or a curse?

Persephone, who has been living among the spirits of the dead, understands better why humanity acts the way it does, whereas her Mother Demeter perceives them as if from a great height, with less immediate empathy.

In frustration, Persephone tells Demeter ”If you could hear what I hear, you wouldn’t be able to talk about them that way..”

Persephone channels the harrowing experiences of four common women in a series of persona-shifting trances, culminating with Demeter’s dramatically vivid account of her visions of one of humanity’s darkest hours.

In both plays, Ellen McLaughlin artfully fuses the poetic with the visceral, offering audiences singular theatrically exciting experiences. Learn more about the plays and playwright Ellen McLaughlin on the page dedicated to her work: About the Plays by Ellen McLaughlin