“I've always been totally smitten with Wilbury's eclectic, dynamic programming. And their fearless commitment to give their audience ‘the never before’ - the never before seen, the never before felt, the never before thought. Miraculously, despite the unprecedented obstacles, this commitment has only deepened during the pandemic. 'Lifted' and Wilbury is a match made in heaven.”

- Lifted playwright Charlie Thurston

ABOUT

LIFTED
by Charlie Thurston

A modern meditation on the Icarus tale, Charlie Thurston's new play Lifted is part gritty family drama, and part theatrical fantasia.

​In a dystopian near-future, birds have returned from their recent extinction to carry a teenage boy off into the sky, leaving his twin brother, father, and girlfriend to search for meaning in his disappearance.
​

“A masterful performance…you’re not just watching three actors on stage, there’s a whole world going on in front of you.  The outdoor setting in the Valley district fits perfectly with the play [and] only enhances the atmosphere. You’re surrounded by the action.” ​
- The Public's Radio

"A haunting exploration of the depths of human despair and the fascination with flight...partly sad, partly humorous, and exhilarating from start to finish." ​
- EDGE Providence

PRESS + MEDIA

LIFTED promo video by Oliver SydeSho Arrias

The Public's Radio · Lifted Wilbury Theatre

Listen to a review of the show on The Public's Radio: 'Lifted' - an Icarus tale of dysfunction and trauma by James Baumgartner and Chuck Hinman

LIFTED production photos by Erin X. Smithers.

CAST + CREATIVE TEAM
​

Daraja Hinds

Jim O'Brien*

Victor Neto

LIFTED
By Charlie Thurston
Directed by Josh Short

Light Design by Emily Hardy
Costume Design by Lizzy Pegler
Projection Design by Max Ponticelli
Sound Design by Andy Russ
Intimacy Direction by Susie Schutt
Set & Props Design by Monica Shinn
​
Stage Management by Allison Marchetti*
Assistant Stage Management by ​Melie Hayes
Scenic & Props Assistance by Edward Galts
Assistant Sound Design by Brian Miranda
Assistant Direction by Jessie March
​
Front of House Management by Christine Treglia
Volunteer Management by Renee Bessette

Production Photos by Erin X. Smithers
​Press / Media Inquiries: Niki Healy 

​Content Warning: This production contains physical violence and blood, sexual situations, multiple gun shots, and flashing strobe lights. It includes references to substance use disorder, death, suicide, abduction, child abuse, and molestation. All representations of violence and intimacy have been staged by a professional.

*Appears courtesy Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

​Playwright Charlie Thurston's plays Radical (Co-written with Deborah Salem Smith) Lifted, A and B, Empire, A Demonstration by Patient Edward, and The History Room have been developed or produced at Huntington Theatre, Trinity Rep, The Filigree Theatre, The Wilbury Group, Brown University, Cornell College, and Creede Repertory Theater. He was the 2012 recipient of the Trinity Repertory Company’s David Wickham Memorial Playwriting Prize. He holds an MFA in Acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep where he studied playwriting under Erik Ehn and Deborah Salem Smith, and has been a member of the Trinity Rep acting company since 2013.
​

---

Dig deeper into ​Lifted.

---

Check out our exclusive Q + A with playwright Charlie Thurston.

Read the Interview

2021/22 Memberships

Join us at Providence's home for groundbreaking artists and adventurous audiences. Membership includes admission to all our 2021/22 productions, including our upcoming premieres of Lifted by Charlie Thurston and Shey Rivera Ríos' AntigonX, season two of Don Mays' God Talks to an Agnostic, the Tony award-winning musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy, and more.

Become a Member for our 2021/22 Season today ​and never miss a thing.

View Memberships

ABOUT

An award-winning*, not-for-profit professional theatre company, the Wilbury Theatre Group engages our community in thought-provoking conversation through new works, reimagined classics and adventurous playmaking. We are idealistic, ambitious, and stubborn in our resolve to create theatre that entertains, enlightens, and inspires.

​*WINNER of the 2018 National Theatre Company Grant from the American Theatre Wing (The Tony Awards).

---