Agnes Under the Big Top, a tall tale

by Aditi Kapil

Explores the intersecting lives of immigrants in a US city. It is a magical tale of hope and disappointment, identity and reinvention, narrated by an itinerant subway busker. Against the subterranean rhythms of a subway train, an itinerant subway busker, a Liberian home care worker, a former Bulgarian ringmaster and his wife, and an Indian call center escapee find and redefine themselves in today’s America.

Explores the intersecting lives of immigrants in a US city. It is a magical tale of hope and disappointment, identity and reinvention, narrated by an itinerant subway busker. Against the subterranean rhythms of a subway train, an itinerant subway busker, a Liberian home care worker, a former Bulgarian ringmaster and his wife, and an Indian call center escapee find and redefine themselves in today’s America.

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Agnes Under the Big Top, a tall tale

Recommended by

  • Emma Goldman-Sherman: Agnes Under the Big Top, a tall tale by Aditi Kapil
    “

    Fabulous! I love the purposefully disconnected fragmentation as a metaphor for the immigrant experience. The characters and their tall tales - the tales we have to tell to manage our lives - how even the American woman who is cared for by Agnes and Roza is disconnected in much the same way that they are and paralyzed too, but the transformation for Agnes is breathtaking. In contrast to its dark subject matter, the play has great humor and heart!

    Fabulous! I love the purposefully disconnected fragmentation as a metaphor for the immigrant experience. The characters and their tall tales - the tales we have to tell to manage our lives - how even the American woman who is cared for by Agnes and Roza is disconnected in much the same way that they are and paralyzed too, but the transformation for Agnes is breathtaking. In contrast to its dark subject matter, the play has great humor and heart!

    ”
  • National New Play Network: Agnes Under the Big Top, a tall tale by Aditi Kapil
    “

    Agnes Under the Big Top: a tall tale by Aditi Kapil received a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. The partnering NNPN Member Theaters were Mixed Blood Theatre (Minneapolis, MN), Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT), and Borderlands Theatre (Tucson, AZ).

    Agnes Under the Big Top: a tall tale by Aditi Kapil received a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. The partnering NNPN Member Theaters were Mixed Blood Theatre (Minneapolis, MN), Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT), and Borderlands Theatre (Tucson, AZ).

    ”
  • Megan Behm: Agnes Under the Big Top, a tall tale by Aditi Kapil
    “

    This play is a brilliant intersection of multiple storylines and characters, and a moving examination of the reality of being an American immigrant.

    This play is a brilliant intersection of multiple storylines and characters, and a moving examination of the reality of being an American immigrant.

    ”
View all 5 recommendations

Development History

  • Workshop, Arena Stage, 2010
  • Workshop, Playwrights' Center, 2009
  • Workshop, Interact Theatre, 2009
  • Workshop, Rhodopi International Theatre Laboratory, Bulgaria, 2009
  • Commission, Mixed Blood Theatre, 2008
  • Reading, Lark Play Development Center, 2008

Production History

  • Professional, Mixed Blood Theatre, 2011
  • Professional, Long Wharf Theatre, 2011
  • Professional, Borderlands Theatre, 2012
  • Professional, Forum Theatre, 2013