Trap Door Presents our Sunday Abroad Reading Series:
Eastern Promises
A staged reading series featuring Eastern European playwrights
Trap Door Theatre is thrilled to introduce a new play-reading series called Sundays Abroad with its first iteration, Eastern Promises. This first series of readings, Eastern Promises will play one Sunday a month in 2026, January – July at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W Cortland St. in Chicago.
Romania – May 17th, 2026 at 3PM
The Pit
Written by Matei Vișniec
Translated by Matei Vişniec and Lesley Chamberlain
Directed by Anna Klos
An absurdist allegory in which two men find themselves trapped in a deep pit, grappling with guilt, fear and the possibility of escape, while a mysterious third figure offers goods — and perhaps freedom — under ambiguous terms.
Featuring: Venice Averyheart, Bianca Caniglia, Cat Evans, Lo Miles and Keith Surney.
Tickets are now on sale for a $20 donated admission or pay-what-you-can at trapdoortheatre.com or by calling (773)-384-0494.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Matei Vişniec, playwright, poet and journalist, was born in Romania, and now lives in Paris. He began writing for the theatre in 1977. Early in his career Visniec’s plays were banned by the Romanian censors. In 1987 he was invited to France by a literary foundation. While there, he asked for and received political asylum. After the fall of communism in Romania, in 1989, Visniec became one of the most performed playwrights in the country. Visniec gained international attention in 1992, with productions of Horses at the Window in France, and Old Clown Wanted at the “Bonner Biennale”. Since then, Matei Visniec’s work has been produced in France, Germany, United States, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, Romania, and Moldavia. His play the word progress on my mother’s lips doesn’t ring true was the winner of the “Best Play in the Off-section” at the Avignon Festival in 2009.
About the Sunday Stories Series, Sundays Abroad
Sunday Stories is Trap Door Theatre’s new staged reading series with a mission to foster cross-cultural understanding through the power of live staged readings. Sunday Stories will feature lesser known playwrights from around the world, historical to modern, highlighting their unique voices, cultural contexts, and contributions to the evolution of theatre. By presenting dramatic works that explore the complex histories, identities, and contemporary realities of this geopolitical territory, this program’s aim is to create a platform for facilitated dialogue between artists and audiences during post-reading talk backs.
Eastern Promises, as the first series, celebrates the resilience and creativity of Eastern European drama and theater, offering new perspectives and deepening appreciation for its unique contributions to the global stage.
The production team includes Gary Damico (Curator), Milan Pribisic (Dramaturg), Kasia Olechno (Stage Manager), Gus Thomas (Audience Outreach), Beata Pilch (Artistic Director).
Sundays Abroad Schedule
Ukraine – January 25th, 2026
My Mama and the Full Scale Invasion
Written by Sasha Denisova
Translated by Micha Kachman
Adapted by Kellie Mecleary
Directed by Gary Damico
A darkly comic, semi-autobiographical play that follows 82 year old Olha Ivanivna who refuses to leave Kyiv during the Russian invasion. She engages in absurd, heroic acts–from advising world leaders to downing drones with jars of pickles. Drawn from real wartime letters, this tragicomedy blends the domestic and the divine, finding dark humor, resilience, and fierce love in the face of terror.
Serbia – February 22nd, 2026
A Boat for Dolls
Written by Milena Markovic
Translated by Maja and Steven Teref
Milena Markovic’s Boat for Dolls is a postdramatic pastiche of fairy tale featuring the heroine, Woman, in her upside down initiation into the adult world dominated by male villains.
Belarus – April 26th, 2026
THE WHITE PLAGUE 2035
Written by Andrei Kureichik
Inspired by Karel Čapek
Translated by Vladimir Rovinsky and Lisa Channer
Directed by Kay Martinovich
In a gripping blend of biting satire and haunting prophecy, The White Plague catapults us into the near future—where the ghosts of totalitarianism return, cloaked in new ideologies and armed with digital disinformation. In this bold reimagining of Karel ’s visionary work, from acclaimed playwright Andrei Kureichik (Insulted Belarus, The (Empty Shell of War) delivers a darkly comic and chilling vision of 21st-century Europe on the brink.
Romania – May 17th, 2026 at 3PM
The Pit
Written by Matei Vișniec
Translated by Matei Visniec and Lesley Chamberlain
Directed by Anna Klos
An absurdist allegory in which two men find themselves trapped in a deep pit, grappling with guilt, fear and the possibility of escape, while a mysterious third figure offers goods — and perhaps freedom — under ambiguous terms.
Serbia – June 28th, 2026 at 3PM
Utopia Trip
Written and Translated by Adam Rađelović
A quest for a true meaning of a search for utopia. The play challenges conventional storytelling while exploring themes of identity, society, and the human desire to escape the absurd.