Redeeming Time at John Arthur Lewis in Association With Damon Bonetti

This production is part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival 2026

John Arthur Lewis arrives at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival this September with Redeeming Time, a solo performance four decades in the making — and one that has already proven it belongs in the room with audiences who weren’t expecting to recognize themselves in it. Part memoir, part reckoning, part gut-level testimony, Redeeming Time is Lewis’s account of his own life — told with the candor and specificity that turns personal history into shared experience. Workshopped and performed in Chicago before making its festival debut, the show arrives in Philadelphia where Lewis maintains ties both professional and personal. Lewis is a raconteur in the oldest sense: someone who earns the room’s attention through the quality of what he has to say and how he chooses to say it. Philadelphia, where he has roots in the theatrical community, feels like the right city for a festival debut.

Redeeming Time, by John Arthur Lewis is An Origin Story . . . 40 Years In The Making. It’s about Shakespeare. And love, and heartbreak. And failure and forgiveness. And humanity, and understanding, and appreciation. And my life, and your life, and life... (you know...Shakespeare).