Theatre Exile 2025/26 Season To Feature Two Philadelphia Premieres And The Return Of Philly Grit

Philadelphia’s Theatre Exile has announced its 2025/26 season, featuring two Philadelphia premieres and the return of the audience-favorite Philly Grit. The lineup includes Max Wolf Friedlich’s psychological thriller Job, Nia Akilah Robinson’s The Great Privation (How to flip ten cents into a dollar), and new works in the company’s Philly Grit series, including the return of Camp Cookie.

Producing Artistic Director Deborah Block said, “These shows are classic Theatre Exile, where we dig deep into the frayed edges of the psyche and sit so close to someone's journey that we're never quite sure what's true and what's not. Both Job and The Great Privation center on women trying to protect others in the face of impossible choices. Nothing stays buried, whether it’s trauma, truth, or love, and these plays remind us of the cost and the beauty in confronting it.”

Theatre Exile 2025/26 Season

JOB

By Max Wolf Friedlich
Directed by Deborah Block
October 30 – November 16, 2025
Opening Night: November 6
Philadelphia Premiere

Featuring Scott Greer and Arianna Gayle, Job transforms the ordinary setting of a therapy session into a taut confrontation between a crisis therapist and a young client entangled in viral controversy. Called “engrossing, disturbing and frequently funny” by The New Yorker, the play probes power, trauma, and survival in the digital age.

PHILLY GRIT

March 18 – 29, 2026
Opening Night: March 20
Camp Cookie: March 26

Theatre Exile’s daring series of short-run productions by Philadelphia artists returns with two one-person shows and the beloved Camp Cookie. Cookie D’iorio, a Philadelphia-based drag performer, vocalist, songwriter, and activist, headlines the speakeasy cabaret with music, laughter, and, of course, cookies.

THE GREAT PRIVATION (HOW TO FLIP TEN CENTS INTO A DOLLAR)

By Nia Akilah Robinson
Directed by Ontaria Kim Wilson
May 28 – June 14, 2026
Opening Night: June 4
Philadelphia Premiere

After acclaimed runs at Theatre 503 in London and Soho Rep in New York, Nia Akilah Robinson’s play receives its Philadelphia premiere. Spanning two timelines—an 1832 cholera outbreak and the present day—the story examines grave robbing, exploitation, and resilience in Black communities, set near Philadelphia’s Mother Bethel AME Church. Talkin’ Broadway called the play “joyous, a lesson for our times,” while The New York Times praised it as “robust, questing, enlivening.”

Tickets & Subscriptions

Single tickets start at $10. Subscription options include the popular Flex Pass, the Preview Plan ($45), Weekday Plan ($83), and Weekend Plan ($95). Benefits include easy exchanges, early access to Camp Cookie, and discounts on additional tickets.