Five Sessions... a war in therapy at Chain Theater

“FIVE SESSIONS…A War in Therapy”

A RAW AND EXPLOSIVE NEW YORK THEATRICAL EVENT THAT CHALLENGES THE LIMITS OF THERAPY AND JUSTICE

 “FIVE SESSIONS…A War in Therapy”–, a gripping new play by the playwright, educator, and activist Jaime Estades. Set in present-day New York City, this intense psychological drama confronts audiences with urgent questions about systemic injustice, and the limits of institutional care.

 “FIVE SESSIONS…A War in Therapy”– is not a conventional play—it is a theatrical confrontation. Over the course of five charged therapy sessions, the audience is drawn into a confined space where two individuals collide: a young therapist with a privilege background–trained with clinical tools and good intentions but non-experiential, and a Latino building superintendent, labor organizer, and a man on the edge, shaped by grief, exploitation, and systemic neglect.

What begins as a standard therapeutic encounter quickly unravels into a volatile exchange where power, race, class, and survival take center stage. The therapy room transforms into a pressure chamber—language becomes action, silence becomes threat, and the boundaries between healing and harm blur dangerously.

With unflinching honesty, the play interrogates the effectiveness of therapy in a society where structural inequities remain unaddressed. The play poses a provocative and unsettling question: Can individual healing exist without collective justice?

The puertorrican Playwright Jaime Estades brings a unique and powerful perspective to the stage drawing from a background in social policy, advocacy, and clinical education—including teaching at Columbia University and previously at NYU—Estades infuses the work with lived experience and intellectual rigor.

Directed by acclaimed theater artist Edward Torres, whose credits include productions of works by Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes and collaborations with The Public Theater’s Mobile Shakespeare Unit. Featuring a cast of accomplished professional actors, including Iván Goris, Belange Rodríguez, Bill Blechinberg and Kyle Glenn “FIVE SESSIONS…A War in Therapy” the performances are as visceral as they are thought-provoking. Bringing together a distinguished director and outstanding cast members, the production promises an engaging and emotionally charged theatrical experience.

This is not a polite play. It is a necessary one.

Five Sessions invites audiences, clinicians, policymakers, and the general public to witness—and reckon with—the uncomfortable truths at the intersection of mental health and social reality.

This production is central to Barrio Independent Productions’ mission to amplify underrepresented voices and spark critical dialogue. By centering Latinx and communities of color, “FIVE SESSIONS…A War in Therapy” exposes the fragile safety nets and systemic failures that often go unspoken in mainstream narratives.

Production Details:

Title: “FIVE SESSIONS…A War in Therapy”

Playwright: Jaime Estades

Director: Edward Torres

Cast: Iván Goris, Belange Rodríguez, Bill Blechinberg & Kyle Glenn

Presented by: Barrio Independent Productions

Venue: Chain Theatre, 312 W. 36th Street, New York, NY

Dates: May 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 & 31

Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 PM

Sundays: 4:00 PM

Reserve your seat.

Link for tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/five-sessions-a-war-in-therapy-by-jaime-estades-tickets-1984781245133