MY DEAD UNCLE'S PORN COLLECTION to Play PlayGround Free-Play Festival
Barbara Brady wrote and stars in the dramedy, developed at San Francisco's Marsh Theater and directed by Joyful Raven.
A new solo show, My Dead Uncle's Porn Collection, comes to the PlayGround Free-Play Festival this August. Written and performed by Barbara Brady, it's a dramedy about dysfunctional family life and the power of talking about toxic secrets. Show times are August 9 at 6 PM, August 22 at Noon and August 23 at 4 PM at Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street, San Francisco, and also simulcast. Admission is free with suggested donation of $10-$30.
My Dead Uncle's Porn Collection tells the true story of Brady's lifelong involvement with her 'funny uncle'-- the family's euphemism for his odd personality and lack of impulse control. Through the lens of humor, she re-lives the joys and traumas of visiting her grandparents' house, where uncle Jay, a lurking presence, lived his entire life. By age 80, he's a solitary, eccentric hoarder in failing health who needs help. Thinking she's had enough therapy to handle it, Barbara agrees to be his in-case-of-emergency person and do weekly check-ins with him. After all, he's probably outgrown his... tendencies, or so she believes. Then his acting-out takes a weirder turn. After he dies, she has to clean out his house. She's not surprised to discover his 'collection,' but that's not the strangest secret she finds hidden in his house.
The 60-minute show was developed with David Ford at San Francisco's Marsh Theater and directed by Joyful Raven. Sound design is by Barbara Brady. It is intended for age 18 and up.
My Dead Uncle's Porn Collection has been praised 'nuanced and perceptive and... brilliantly written.' The show premiered at the 2025 Tampa Fringe Festival to sold-out houses and audience raves. It was an official selection of the Soaring Solos Stars Series in LA in November, 2025, and the Ooley Theater Women's Wit and Wisdom Festival in Sacramento in March, 2026.
Brady is a writer, performer and visual artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is her second solo show. Orlando Weekly called her previous show, Father Daughter & Holy Toast, 'impressive,' saying, 'this is a woman worth leaning in and listening to.' Kings River Life praised it as 'affectionate and subtle.' Brady 'commands the stage with a sense of ease that immediately draws in audience members,' said Front Row Reviewers.
Brady has performed in the Bay Area's leading performance series, including The Marsh's Tell It On Tuesday, Solo Sundays at Stage Werx and Sunset Solos. She has also performed nationally at Orlando International Theater Festival, Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Great Salt Lake Fringe and Tampa Fringe earning laudatory reviews.
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