Harley Elias

2024 NNPN National Showcase of New Plays

Two eunuch scribes argue over the transition from Cuneiform to Aramaic in 728 BCE, and in turn wrestle with the purpose of writing, changing technologies, state violence, systemic oppression, revolution, gender, disability, and the invention of poetry. A dark comedy for anyone who has ever wanted to draw triangles in clay.

A performance artist living in a contemporary art gallery performing as a dog for a month unexpectedly causes the upheaval of the gallery and the lives of those who work there, as the true nature of his identity is called into question. A canine comedy about the art world and the power of deception.

Diogo gets a notary's pardon to forgive his wife for maybe sleeping with his best friend Gaspar, but stipulates that if Gaspar ever gives her earrings again, he's going back to jail. So, what happened with those earrings? It's 16th century Portugal and secret Jews are making secret shoes and having secret sex. A dark comedy about the invention of high heels, kink, Catholic sacrifice, cults, crypto-Jews, and betrayal.

An out of work actor wants to join the gang of the Thuggees, India's best medieval roadside murderers, from whence we get the word Thug. He enters a world of deception, slang, and bloodless murder that takes him up against the British colonial force, who themselves seek to be the only roadside murderers in town. A dark comedy about a forgotten history, taking on empire, and how to kill with a handkerchief.

A sudden armed robbery in a delicatessen causes the sandwich maker and the guy-who-hangs-around-the-store-too-much to unexpectedly kiss. As they fall deeper in love, will their relationship last outside deli? And can they successfully stage a robbery themselves, to heist their way into the sunset. A play about sandwiches, unexpected love, and what happens when you hang around the corner store too much.

Step right up and be transfixed by the Wall of Death! Motorcycle riders flying at breakneck speed around and around in front of your eyes. A man singing his way to redemption. Memories creating their own gravity. It all moves together on the Wall. The lives of a motorcycle stunt rider, a taxidermist, and a wannabee country songwriter intersect through three adjacent monologues. A meditation. A confession. A song cycle. A carnival. Come ride.

Two female surfers looking for waves plot to prove that Captain Cook is not the god he thinks he is by challenging him to surf, and take down his invading force. Set entirely on water, an anticolonial radical surfer revolution revenge play.