Photos: THE EMPLOYEE DHARMA HANDBOOK At TheatreWorks Silicon Valley

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kicks off Season 56 with the World Premiere of The Employee Dharma Handbook by Geetha Reddy (Safe House, Mahābhārata). A bold, funny, and enlightening new work, this scintillating premiere was a favorite at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s 2025 New Works Festival and is a recipient of TheatreWorks’ Kurjan/Butler commission. Check out the photos!

Set at a Silicon Valley aerospace company, HR executive Val investigates a potential staffing issue amongst the lead engineers, suspecting sexism. She instead encounters simmering tensions of ancient origins amongst the company’s Indian immigrant employees bubbling over and threatening to derail the company’s upcoming rocket launch. Center Theatre Group’s Brindell & Milton Gottlieb Artistic Director Snehal Desai directs this gripping investigation of identity and desire, which features Megan Suri (Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever”), Kapil Talwalkar (Peacock’s “The ‘Burbs,” NBC’s “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” NBC’s “Night Court”), Kunal Dudheker (20th Century Studios’ Ad Astra, Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Kathryn Smith-McGlynn (20th Century Studios’ Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials), and Ranjita Chakravarty (Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever”). 

The Employee Dharma Handbook will perform July 8 – August 2, 2026 (press opening: July 11) at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Single tickets ($54-$104, pricing inclusive of fees) and subscriptions to Season 56 are currently available. For more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call 877-662-8978.

 “Geetha Reddy was one of the first artists commissioned through TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s Kurjan/Butler commissions,” said TheatreWorks Artistic Director Giovanna Sardelli. “She is an extraordinary writer, and we are thrilled to support her. When she shared The Employee Dharma Handbook with us, and we in turn presented it to our audience as part of our New Works Festival last year, we knew she had written something bold and exciting. It’s a fantastic, multilayered story perfect for us and for our community.” 

“The Employee Dharma Handbook is entirely a product of the TheatreWorks New Works development process,” said playwright Geetha Reddy. “A Kurjan/Butler commission, I began writing the play as part of the inaugural Susan Fairbrook Core Writers Group and developed it during TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival. This play is a Kafkaesque exploration of what happens when the codes of an ancient culture clash with the rules of corporate America.”

TheatreWorks will host a Backstage Banter pre-show conversation with artists from 6:15-6:45pm Thursday, July 9 and will hold post-show discussions with the cast following the 7:30pm Wednesday, July 15; 7:30pm Wednesday, July 22; and 7:30pm Wednesday, July 29 performances.

Photo Credit: Kevin Berne