Dragon Play at Rorschach Theatre Is an Immersive Romantasy Worth Catching
Rorschach Theatre has always thrived on the unconventional, and their current production of Dragon Play is no exception. Written by Jenny Connell Davis and directed by Randy Baker, the show runs through May 17 at The Stacks at Buzzard Point — and it's one of the more distinctive theatrical experiences you'll find in the DC area right now.
The setting alone makes the trip worthwhile. Rorschach has transformed an unfinished commercial space in the Buzzard Point neighborhood into a richly atmospheric theatrical lair. Designer Sarah Beth Hall's gorgeous set features concentric swirls of fabric suspended overhead and sweeping mounds of white paper that surround the stage-in-the-round, conjuring a world that feels mythic and strangely familiar at once. Lighting designer Haily LaRoe bathes the space in warm, evocative tones, while sound designer Madeline "Mo" Oslejsek wraps the audience in an immersive surround-sound environment that deepens the otherworldly atmosphere from the very first moment.
That opening moment is a stunner. The story begins in near-total darkness before a single lit wooden match illuminates a woman's face — the smell of sulfur curling through the theater as the flame catches. It's a theatrical gesture that perfectly sets the tone for what follows: a play that deals in fire, desire, and the things we can't quite let go of.
Dragon Play weaves together two parallel storylines, both centered on the pull between an ordinary human life and the intoxicating, dangerous world of dragons. In the first, a woman (Erin Denman) living a quiet, settled existence is upended when her former lover returns — a lean, leather-jacketed figure known only as Dragon and played with smoldering intensity by Jalen Wilson-Nelem. Her husband, played solidly by Erik Harrison, represents everything stable and unremarkable, while Dragon represents something wilder and harder to resist. The dynamic between Denman and Wilson-Nelem is the beating heart of the production; their chemistry generates a palpable heat that keeps the show's more fantastical elements grounded in genuine emotion.
Running alongside that storyline is the tale of a younger character, Loser Boy (Ben Ribler), whose entanglement with a Dragon Girl (Bri Houtman) traces a messier, less refined version of the same themes — the longing to connect with something beyond the everyday, and the cost of that longing. Houtman brings a sinewy, committed energy to her role that makes the dragon mythology feel genuinely alive on stage.
Intimacy and fight coordinator Lorraine Ressegger-Slone has her hands full with a production that's physically bold throughout, and the results show in several charged and kinetic sequences. The play clocks in at 80 minutes with no intermission, a lean runtime that keeps things moving even as it reaches for deeper resonances around desire, abandonment, and the impossible choices we make when passion collides with the life we've built.
The experience doesn't end when the house lights come up. After the show, audiences are invited outside to a fire pit set against the backdrop of the Anacostia riverway, where they're encouraged to write down a memory, a name, or a story they're ready to release — and let it burn. It's a ritual that lands with surprising emotional weight, and it's the kind of closing gesture that only a company like Rorschach would think to offer.
Dragon Play performs Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $50 for adults and $35 for students and seniors, with a limited number of $20 "InkTix" available for each performance. The Stacks at Buzzard Point is located at 101 V Street SW, Washington, DC. Tickets and more information are available at rorschachtheatre.com.