SisterPlay at The Flea

SisterPlay is a world-premiere play inspired by the true story of playwright and director Elizabeth Ostler’s sister, Lisa, who died while in custody at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail.

Blending memory, family history, and the realities of incarceration, SisterPlay explores the complicated terrain of sisterhood, addiction, grief, and the systems that shape our lives. At its center are three intersecting questions: What happens when a person grappling with addiction enters a system that was never designed to see the whole person? What does inadequate medical treatment mean for people in custody? And how does a family carry the loss of someone they could not save?

Rather than offering easy answers, SisterPlay invites audiences into the complexity of loving someone through impossible circumstances and asks what it means to see the whole person behind the circumstances.

SisterPlay runs September 1–13, 2026, at The Flea in New York City, with previews September 1–2 and opening night September 3.