The Catastrophic Theatre is pleased to announce a new production of Hunter Gatherers, the hottest ticket in town last season during its short run at Stages. Hunter Gatherers contributed to Catastrophic being named Houston’s “Best Theatre Company” last year and winning the first ever “Best Public Dick” award from The Houston Press.

Pam and Richard host Tom and Wendy for the annual celebration of their double wedding, seventeen years before.  But this party is unlike any of the sixteen that preceded it and the evening’s events will leave our heroes changed forever.  Expect the following plus much, much more:

Hors d'oeuvres, parking, wine, blood, “the most special night of the year.”  Animal sacrifice, stitches, ethics committees, adultery, wine, betrayal, sex in the kitchen.  High school football, menstruation, prom night, oven mitts.  More wine, more sex, more blood.  Homoerotic wrestling.  Art, cooking, dancing, food fights, legs of lamb, head wounds.  Stabbing, beating, erotic asphyxiation, orgasms.  And brownies!  

Four souls awaken from the denial and disappointments of their daily lives to become their true, primitive selves.  

Catastrophic’s new production will feature Shelley Calene-Black in the role of Pam, previously played by Charlesanne Rabensburg (now attending graduate school in Ohio).  Shelley is a veteran of The Alley Theatre, Infernal Bridegroom Productions and Stages, where she recently tore up the stage as the lead in their stunning production of Rabbit Hole.  Catastrophic company members Amy Bruce, Greg Dean, and Troy Schulze will reprise their roles from last year.

The production will also feature all new scenic and lighting designs, script revisions from the playwright, new direction, and the ability to take your drinks into the theatre.

For tickets, visit www.catastrophictheatre.com or call the box office at (713) 522-2723.

Peter Sinn Nachtrieb is a San Francisco-based playwright whose works include boom, T.I.C. (Trenchcoat In Common), Hunter Gatherers (2007 ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, 2007 Will Glickman Prize), Colorado, and Multiplex. His work has been seen Off-Broadway and at theaters across the country including at Ars Nova, SPF, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Seattle Repertory, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cleveland Public Theatre, Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep, Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theatre, Dad's Garage, and in the Bay Area at Encore Theatre, Killing My Lobster, Marin Theatre Company, Impact Theatre, and The Bay Area Playwrights Festival. He is under commission from South Coast Repertory and American Conservatory Theater, and is a Resident Playwright at the Playwrights Foundation, San Francisco. He holds a degree in Theater and Biology from Brown and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. 

Critical praise for last year’s production:

“A night filled with evil laughter… a stunning production led by a fabulous foursome of a cast… outrageously funny… laugh til your face hurts… this is not family-friendly theatre but thanks to this terrific cast and dead-on direction, it’s the funniest grown-up play anyone’s put on this season.” 

  • Lee Williams, Houston Press

 

“The Catastrophic Theatre has mounted a vivid Houston premiere of Hunter Gatherers with a strong cast that makes the most of its biting black comedy and outrageously extreme action… Hunter Gatherers strips away the veneer of civilized behavior to reveal primal urges and unleash the beast within. (And if that doesn’t start a stampede at the box office, what will?)” 

  • Everett Evans, Houston Chronicle 

 

“It’s cerebral, it’s visceral, it’s hysterically funny. I don’t mean that in a stuffy, traditional-theater sense — I mean really funny and full of food for thought… An unusually intense and entertaining evening at the theater.” 

  • Alex Gilbert, 29.95.com