Editor’s Pick: ‘Private’ at Mosaic Theater
Mona Pirnot's 'Private' portrays a society where surveillance is so pervasive it makes privacy a commodity.
In the not-too-distant future, a young married couple tries to hold their fledgling marriage together as their secrets are slowly exposed to the world — and to each other — as a result of living under constant surveillance.
Mona Pirnot’s Private, currently having its World Premiere at Mosaic Theater Company, portrays a society where surveillance is so pervasive as to make privacy a commodity in everyday interactions.
In this particular case, Eric Berryman plays a new hire at a company mandating that he submit to 24/7 surveillance, something he doesn’t initially tell his wife, played by trans, non-binary artist Temídayo Amay, who has just quit her day job to focus solely on her passion for music.
In the face of total transparency, Private forces the couple to confront issues of trust, compromise, and connection, and all the drama and deception — plus Pirnot’s sharp dialogue and high suspense — that ensues.
“The important questions of the play aren’t specific to the future,” says the playwright in a press release. “When you sign up to spend your life with a person, does that mean you should share everything?” Ben Katz and Sophie Schulman are also featured in a production overseen by Knud Adams with a team of designers including Luciana Stecconi on sets.
Private is currently being performed with limited, in-person seating at the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s Sprenger Theater, 1333 H St. NE. Playing through April 17.
Tickets are $20 to $68. A 72-hour video-on-demand option is also available for purchase starting Monday, April 4 for $40. Call 202-399-7993 or visit www.MosaicTheater.org.
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