Tag Archives: Know Theatre of Cincinnati

January 17th- February 8th 

When the world comes crashing down around you,
how do you make it through the night? 

Following its London premiere in 2016, Nina Segal’s riveting new drama In the Night Time (before the sun rises) makes it U.S. debut on the Know Theatre Mainstage this January:

Somewhere – not here, but somewhere – it is night time.

A baby cries. A bottle breaks. A window smashes. And deep into the night, a couple we meet as simply “Man” and “Woman” try to soothe their screaming newborn back to sleep.

As the hours grow longer, the world becomes elastic around them, and the horrors that scar our planet threatens to crash into the baby’s room.

In the longest, darkest hours of the night, when sleep deprivation robs you of your mooring, you begin to wonder – how could we have brought a child into such a wounded world?

And how can we find the hope, together, to carry on?

A finalist for the 2016 Yale Drama Prize, In the Night Time (before the sun rises)  was first staged at London’s Gate Theatre, and makes its US premiere right here at the Know.

Called “raw and restless” and “visceral from start to finish” by critics, Nina Segal’s unflinching script echoes the styles of Sarah Kane or Caryl Churchill, but with a contemporary feel all her own. And though Segal is unafraid to take us into the darker stretches of the human imagination, this story’s ultimate message of hope at the end of a long night will resonate with anyone seeking the light in these dark times.

To take on this intense experimental drama, Know Theatre is proud to bring back University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Brant Russell to direct.

We asked him what about In the Night Time (before the sun rises) resonates with him, as both an artist and a parent – and this is what he had to say:

So, I’m a dad and I also like to think that I’m a conscientious person that strives to be ethical.

This play not only asks the question of why would we bring newborn life into such a broken place, but also: does bringing new lives into this broken place make it more broken?

In what ways are we culpable as parents? Are we condemning the next generation by creating them? 

The Know is delighted to showcase two of Cincinnati’s most versatile performers to bring In The Night Time’s struggling young couple and the big ideas with which they’ll wrestle into vivid focus. 

Straight from their hilarious performances in Know’s record-breaking run of Puffs, we welcome back Elizabth Chinn Molloy and Brandon Burton to show you a whole new side to their dramatic talents.

Before Puffs, Elizabeth Chinn Molloy’s work had previously appeared on the Know MainStage in 2019’s Mercury and 2017’s SuperTrue. You may also have caught her work in Serials!,the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, and various play readings in the Know Underground. This time, she takes on the challenging role of “Woman,” a new mother whose fears and doubts begin to metastasize under the pressure of a sleepless child. Is it ethical or right to bring a child into our modern world?

Joining Elizabeth once again is Brandon Burton as “Man.” Currently onstage as math magician Oliver Rivers in Puffs, you might remember him as the hilarious Castle Guard in Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood and Islington & Lord Rat Speaker in Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. This time, he tackles the gritty and emotional role of a new father grown delirious as he and his wife desperately attempt to get their newborn to sleep.

In our bleakest moments, we turn to each other to reconnect and rediscover the hope we’ve lost – because, sometimes, the only way to make it through the night is together.

If you’re seeking a new dawn, too, don’t miss In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises), running January 17th- February 8th, only at Your Theatrical Playground.

Cast in Alphabetical Order

• Brandon Burton- Man
• Elizabeth Molloy- Woman

Production Team

• Director: Brant Russell
• Scenic Designer and Lighting Designer: Andrew J. Hungerford
• Costume Designer: Noelle Wedig-Johnston
• Sound Designer: Douglas Borntrager
• Props Designer & Scenic Charge: Kayla Williams
• Stage Manager: Meghan Winter
• Technical Director: Henry Bateman 

Calendar Listing

Production:   In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises) by Nina Segal

When:

• 8pm  Jan 17th, 18th, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 29th, 30th, 31st, Feb 1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th
• 3pm  Jan 19th, 26th, Feb 2nd

Where:

Know Theatre of Cincinnati. 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. In historic Over-the-Rhine.

Tickets:

• $25 regular price tickets
• $35 “Living Wage” tickets, supporting working artists in Cincinnati
• $15 Rush tickets at the door 10 minutes prior to curtain (when available) 

FREE walk-up tickets are available on Wednesdays^, as part of Know’s Welcome Experiment.

Advance reservations to Welcome Experiment performances are $10.00.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting knowtheatre.com or calling 513.300.5669 

Know Theatre is Cincinnati’s Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible. 

Know Theatre’s work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.  

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. 

Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.

 Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network.

###