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Simple Machine presents the New England premiere of rogerandtom, a play about a play within a play.
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Simple Machine presents the New England Premiere of rogerandtom by Julien Schwab

New theatre company performs meta-theatrical comedy

(SOMERVILLE) – Simple Machine presents the New England Premiere of the fourth-wall breaking play, rogerandtom by Julien Schwab, March 30 through April 7 at the Davis Square Theatre. The play runs 80 minutes and is being directed by Stephen Libby, and stars Stephen Radochia, Andrew Rhodes, and Anna Waldron. Tickets are $15 and are available through simplemachinetheatre.com and at the door on the day of performance.

rogerandtom is about two estranged brothers and the fourth wall between them. Tom has written a new play about his brother Roger, and somehow convinced the reticent Roger to come and see it with their sister Penny. But when the characters of the show literally pull Roger into their world, he is forced to play along with the play-within-a-play if he wants to get close to his brother again.

Andrew Rhodes of Malden plays Roger, the taciturn mechanic who finds himself out of his depth in the world of theatre. Rhodes is the founder and Artistic Director of Makeshift Theatre Company. Anna Waldron, also from Malden and who recently appeared in the Whistler in the Dark production of Fen, plays Penny, Roger and Tom’s younger sister, perpetually the peacemaker between them. And Stephen Radochia of Arlington plays the dual role of Rich, Penny’s estranged husband, and Will, the actor playing Rich, who guides Roger and the audience through the twists and turns of the play. Radochia is currently appearing in Some Explicit Polaroids with Brown Box Theatre Company.

rogerandtom has been performed in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, and Personal Space Theatrics brought a production to the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it received stellar reviews. Playwright Julien Schwab has earned comparisons to Stoppard and Pirandello. This production is being funded in part by a campaign with IndieGoGo.

According to Stage Director and Simple Machine co-founder Stephen Libby, “This play is an amazing fit for our aesthetic and for this town. It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s intimate. rogerandtom celebrates the give and take between performers and audiences and we’re so excited to share it with the people of Boston.”

About Simple Machine

Simple Machine makes theatre for artists and audiences. It was founded by Anna Waldron and Stephen Libby. Simple machines are the essential building blocks of every complex mechanical device that moves and changes the world around us. Character, language, and action are the essential elements at the heart of all theatre. By focusing on these fundamentals, Simple Machine makes theatre that is engaging, accessible, and affordable.