Eboni Booth’s PRIMARY TRUST Coming to Virginia Repertory Theatre

The Pulitzer-Prize winning play Primary Trust will serve as the first Virginia Repertory Theatre production opening in 2026. Performances take place Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays at 7:00 PM, select Saturdays at 2PM, Sundays at 3PM, and select Wednesday evenings and matinees. Tickets are on sale now at www.va-rep.org or by calling the box office at (804) 282-2620. 

A recent off-Broadway hit by playwright Eboni Booth, Primary Trust is an insightful exploration of vulnerability, isolation, and the unexpected friendships that can blossom in the face of adversity. When a shy 38 year-old’s carefully constructed life—a routine of books, Mai-Tais, and conversations with his Best Friend—collapses, Kenneth must suddenly confront his past and brave the outside world. 

Primary Trust will be presented in VA Rep’s Theatre Gym, an intimate, 81 seat theatre located in the November Theatre complex in the Jackson Ward neighborhood of Richmond. The Theatre Gym has hosted many local theatre companies over the last several years,  most recently Richmond Shakespeare’s King James. Last season, it welcomed productions from the Black Theatre Alliance, 5th Wall Theatre, and Yes, And! Theatrical Co. 

⁣Originally built in 1912, the Theatre Gym was first named The Little Theatre, the first purpose-built movie theatre in Richmond. Renamed The Maggie Walker Theatre in 1934, it remained open until 1963. Its former marquee now fronts the Virginia Repertory Theatre.⁣ Primary Trust will be the first show produced by VA Rep in this space since the COVID19 pandemic. 

“Primary Trust is a rare play that finds profound meaning in everyday life, revealing how quiet connections can be just as transformative as grand gestures. And in VA Rep’s intimate Theatre Gym, those small, human moments land with extraordinary impact and clarity,” says Artistic Director, Rick Hammerly. 

Five artists create the cast of Primary Trust, featuring Rex Hudson as Kenneth, most recently seen in the lead role Tristan for Lucy Prebble’s The Effect at the Off Square Theatre Company located in the Center for the Arts in Jackson Hole, WY. Playing Kenneth’s Best Friend is NYC based actor, BRIAN ANTHONY SIMMONS. Brian holds a BFA in theatre performance from VCU— and his stage credits include working with Black Spectrum Theater, Soho Playhouse, Nuyorican poets café and with Ishamel Reed. 

Primary Trust also features two actors familiar to Richmond audiences, Zakiyyah Jackson (Corrina and others), who was most recently seen in A Strange Loop (RTCC 2025 Best Musical Winner), and Joe Pabst (Clay & Others) has been directing and performing in the Richmond Theatre Community for more than 35 years— most recently as Mr. Fezziwig in Virginia Rep’s A Christmas Carol. 

Providing an original, live score to the play is Tevin Davis (Musician & Others), an actor, singer, musician, writer, music director, and comedian with a B.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University. He most recently performed at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and audiences may also recognize Tevin from Season 46 of Survivor on CBS. 

The show is directed by Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Ph.D.,  Professor of Acting and Directing Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University and Artistic Director & Founder of The Conciliation Project, a non-profit social justice theatre company.

Dr. T is a playwright, director, actor, poet, and writer. She appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival’s historic Broadway production of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the rainbow is enuf” performing in both the 1st national and international touring companies.