World Premiere: DROWNER [Renword] Opens at NextStop Theatre

NextStop Theatre ushers in a thrilling new era with the world premiere of ↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword], a haunted comedy by acclaimed playwright Nia Akilah Robinson that promises to be as unsettling as it is hilarious. The production opens January 31 and runs through February 22 at the company's Herndon venue, marking a bold statement of NextStop's commitment to developing daring new works and amplifying vital contemporary voices.

↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword]

Robinson's genre-bending play centers on two Black college students who accept what seems like an easy summer job in upstate New York: watching over 93-year-old Professor Renword, a white academic, while she swims at her home. But what begins as an odd employment arrangement quickly spirals into something far more sinister. As Professor Renword races to complete her life memoir, she finds herself haunted by her past, while the present becomes increasingly nightmarish for her two young employees. The summer job transforms into a psychological trap as secrets surface and tensions escalate, forcing the young women to confront whether they can break free from the inherited burdens weighing them down or if their situation is truly inescapable.

Robinson has quickly established herself as a rising force in the DMV theater scene. Just months ago, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company produced her play The Great Privation (How to Flip Ten Cents into a Dollar) to wide acclaim, with The Washington Post lauding her as "a rising playwriting talent." With ↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword], she delivers another sharp-witted examination of race, power, and history wrapped in the guise of dark comedy.

The world premiere holds special significance as it marks the directorial debut at NextStop for Heather Lanza, who assumed the role of Producing Artistic Director in fall 2024. Lanza has brought with her a renewed artistic vision focused on new play development, making this world premiere an ideal inaugural project that embodies the company's forward-looking direction.

The production features a stellar cast including Amber Patrice Coleman, Jasmine Proctor (recently seen in The Turn of the Screw), Nicole Halmos (Native Gardens and Helen Hayes Award winner for Outstanding Lead in a Play for The Cake), and Mary Myers (Helen Hayes Award winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor for 45 Plays for 45 Presidents). They're joined by Iris DeWitt and Vincent Stovall, with understudies Aja Goode, Courtney Simmons, Megan Barbie, and Christopher Holbert.

Theater lovers will have several opportunities to deepen their engagement with the production through special events. A talkback with Robinson and Lanza follows the Sunday, February 2 matinee at 2 pm, offering audiences a chance to hear directly from the creative minds behind the work. The Under 40 Happy Hour on Friday, February 13 at 7 pm provides a social gathering for younger theatergoers, while an additional topical talkback will be scheduled and announced.