Tuyết Thị Phạm as Mother and Ashley D. Nguyễn as Mary. Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.
Everyman Theatre is currently presenting the world premiere of “Dawn,” written by playwright Tuyết Thị Phạm and directed by Seonjae Kim. Phạm is also an associate artistic director of the theatre and a member of the resident company of actors. She wrote the play during the pandemic in isolation but wanted collaboration for further development after she first heard actors reading her script over Zoom meetings. This led to three-day workshops at Spooky Action Theatre in DC and at the Women in Washington Theatre Festival, followed by play readings at SigWorks (Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA) and Script Tease (Everyman Theatre). Each location introduced the play to different audiences for feedback. The actors, playwright, dramaturg, and director then took the play to the Colorado New Play Festival which Phạm has described as an “emotional, dynamic, and moving experience.”
This is a play for our times…Phạm’s message is a universal one.
The settings are a suburb in the United States, and a communal farm and makeshift hospital in Cambodia (aka Kampuchea) during 1975-1978, a period of brutal, radical genocide and agrarian change led by Pol Pot and the Communist Party (Khmer Rouge). This regime abolished money, private property, and schools and actively suppressed Buddhism in favor of atheism. The “Killing Fields” caused the deaths of almost two million people through execution, starvation, and overwork. The play takes place during the required Buddhist mourning period of 100 days as Mary and her mother grieve the loss of their loving father and husband and reflect upon their past and present.
Paige Hathaway has designed a simple set that enables the setting of the play to change through the use of Chris Carcione’s projection design. Three walls with windows represent the new apartment in suburban America for Mother (Tuyết Thị Phạm); an urban apartment for Mary (Ashley D. Nguyễn) and her partner, Sam (Taylor Witt); a makeshift wartime hospital; and an office for the Commune Director, (Tony K. Nam). Each setting is represented by the clever projections depicting the waving trees, tall urban buildings lit up at night, shellfire and bombing, and the night sky with stars. Supertitles, first in the Khmer script, then in English, announce scene changes.
Props and furniture are kept to a minimum to facilitate scene changes by stage manager Molly Prunty and crew. David Burdick’s costume design is also effectively minimal, e.g., a lab coat for the Doctor, a military style jacket for the Commune Director, and casual blouses and pants for Mother and Mary.
Lighting designer Juan Juarez’s use of overhead spotlights and reduced lighting creates a spooky atmosphere for the unseen ghosts of the past. It is complemented by Adam Mendelson’s very eclectic sound mix throughout the play—Cambodian pop music while the audience enters; varying recorded vocal and instrumental music during scene changes; and the sound effects of artillery and bombs.
Seonjae Kim’s direction of the actors’ movement and gestures, mostly downstage, gives the audience a first-hand view of the subtleties of the grief experienced by Mother and Mary’s attempt to understand the process and the Buddhist ceremonial rubrics. Ms. Nguyễn is a marvel of action and expression as she plays Mary at different ages and Young Mother as well. We feel her strain to understand why she has never fully “connected” with her mother, and Phạm’s script gradually offers explanation and resolve. Ms. Phạm is also adept in expressing the more physical and emotional aspects of grieving over the past and trying not to remember by focusing on the future. Tony K. Nam’s one scene is powerful and provides the background information needed to move the play forward. His character, however, is not totally unsympathetic as he struggles with his moral conscience in the Khmer Rouge quest for power. Taylor Witt, portraying both the American doctor during wartime and Mary’s partner, Sam, manages to portray both characters trying to understand and reconcile the emotions and grief of Mary and Young Mother. Audience members may sympathize and empathize with his strong portrayal, as the Doctor plays it by the book, while Sam learns about tradition from the mother and tries to reconcile Mary with her.
This is a play for our times. The more we learn about the psychological effects of war upon various cultures and nations and the brutality of dictatorial regimes, the more we see and hopefully understand the plight of immigrants, their struggle to leave the past and their homelands, and the efforts to adjust to new customs and surroundings in order to survive. Phạm’s message is a universal one. We need to banish the ghosts of the past and move the human experience forward to a future of understanding and civility. As the song “Feeling Good” states: “It’s a new dawn, a new day, and a new life…”
Running Time: One hour and 30 minutes with no intermission.
Advisory: Themes of war and genocide (including visuals of fire and sounds of bombs/gun shots), sexual violence, references to death/grief, and mature language. Theatrical haze in select scenes.
“Dawn” runs through March 1, 2026, at Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette Street, Baltimore MD 21201. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call the Box Office at 410-752-2208, Monday through Friday from 12 noon to 5 pm or go online. The Box Office is also open two hours before each performance for walk-up sales.
