Inspired by the relationship between playwright Gabriel Jason Dean and his brother, an incarcerated high-level member of the alt-right. RIFT opens at The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 31 July (press performances from 1.30 pm on 1 August).
Two brothers - one a progressive novelist, the other a convicted murderer and high-ranking member of a white supremacist prison gang - shared a traumatic childhood. Now, as adults, these men navigate the edges of their bond. Are they truly so different?
Direct from its sell-out North American premiere, US playwright Dean’s semi-autobiographical new play asks, ‘Is it possible to love someone whose beliefs you hate?’ As America tears itself apart, RIFT is an honest, raw depiction of the ways we cannot communicate with the people we love and about the political challenges of this moment.
In creating the piece, Dean reconnected with his brother to explore the roots of their ideological differences and try to find common ground. Heartbreakingly honest, RIFT is an urgent exploration of race, power, and American cultural divides in 2025.
The UK premiere of RIFT at the Edinburgh Fringe marks the debut of acclaimed US producing theatre Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage and continues Olivier, Tony, Emmy and Scotsman Fringe First Award-winning producer Richard Jordan’s long association with the Traverse Theatre.
Gabriel Jason Dean is a playwright, screenwriter, librettist, and lyricist whose work examines the volatile intersections of class, race, and nationalism in America. He has been dubbed “feisty as hell” by the New Yorker and “a great modern American playwright” by Broadway World. His critically acclaimed, award-winning work in the theatre has been produced/developed at Off-Broadway at distinguished companies such as New York Theatre Workshop, Manhattan Theatre Club, Page 73, 59E59, and regionally throughout the U.S. at notable venues such as The Kennedy Center, Oregon Shakespeare, and many others. In addition to Rift, select plays include Heartland (PlayPenn Conference, National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere); In Bloom (Canadian Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Award); Terminus (Austin Critics' Table Award); Qualities of Starlight (Broadway Blacklist); Entangled (New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination); and his often-produced play for young audiences The Transition of Doodle Pequeño (American Alliance for Theatre and Education Distinguished Play Award, NETC Aurand Harris Award, Oficio Critico Award for Best Play – Lima, Peru). Dean penned book and lyrics for the young audiences musical Mario & the Comet (Seattle Children’s Theatre) and the activist musical Our New Town (The Civilians R&D Group). His script for television, We Belong, was a finalist for the Humanitas New Television Writer Award. He is currently an Assistant Professor of English Literatures and Writing & Theatre at Muhlenberg College, an Affiliated Writer at The Playwrights’ Center, and a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop. Gabriel earned his Master of Fine Arts at the Michener Center for Writers, University of Texas at Austin. www.GabrielJasonDean.com
Director Ari Laura Kreith commissioned and directed the world premiere of RIFT at Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage, where she is Artistic Director. Her Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage directing credits include the world premiere of the world premiere of Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library and its two subsequent Off-Broadway productions at 59E59 Theaters and WP Theater; The Ground On Which We Stand (commissioned world premiere); A Case for the Existence of God, Heartland; and Pirira, which she also directed in its NY Innovative Theatre Best Play Award-winning world premiere Off-Broadway. Other highlights include conceiving/directing Theatre 167's The Jackson Heights Trilogy – three full-length plays collaboratively written by 18 playwrights and featuring 37 actors in 93 roles in 14 languages; Mourning Sun (world premiere, Theatre 167 @ West End Theatre/Kampala International Theatre Festival, Uganda); Tina Howe’s Singing Beach (world premiere, HERE Arts Center); I Like To Be Here: Jackson Heights Revisited, Or, This Is A Mango (world premiere, New Ohio); and immersive commissions for Queens Museum and the NY Transit Museum, BA; Yale. MFA: UC Davis. Ari grew up in 27 countries.
Matt Monaco plays Inside Brother. He originated the role in the Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage world premiere of RIFT in 2024. His previous credits include Lorin in Gloria at American Conservatory Theatre; Murderer; Henry VI, and Bishop of Ely in Richard III at The Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park; Fred in A Christmas Carol at McCarter Theatre; Bill in Lobby Hero at Florida Repertory Theatre; young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at American Conservatory Theatre; Mike in Seared at Gloucester Stage Company; Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet at Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, George in Stop Kiss and Theatre FIRST, and Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross at Alterna Playhouse. Matt holds a BA in Drama from San Francisco State University and an MFA in acting from American Conservatory Theatre.
Blake Stadnik plays Outside Brother, having originated the role in the world premiere of RIFT in 2024. Blake is best known for his role as Jack Damon in NBC’s This Is Us. He received his BFA in theatre from Pennsylvania State University and has performed across the United States in both national tours and at some of the nation’s most prestigious theaters. His credits include Love’s Labors Lost, Sweeney Todd, 42nd Street, Newsies, and Les Misérables. At the age of seven, Blake was diagnosed with a degenerative retinal disease that left him legally blind nine months later. He discovered theatre shortly after, and it gave him a way to express his creativity, process the loss of his sight, and gifted him with a community that has supported him to this day. Now, as a professional actor with visual impairment, Blake is an advocate for all artists with disabilities through his mentorship and his participation in various outreach programs. ‘The world is full of unexamined and unique perspectives; let us finally tell their stories.’
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