A SLOW FIRE
By Simon Stephens
Directed by Robin Witt
A U.S. Premiere
Sheltered in a converted storage unit in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Ashton and Reece sustain themselves by reenacting moments of hope from their past, until forces from the outside world challenge how best to carry hope forward.
Production Sponsors: Ken Burlington, James T. O’Neill, Timothy Sherck, Barbara & Randy Thomas, Lisa & Randy White, and Martha Anne & Stephen Yandle
Tickets & Information
Ticket Pricing
General Admission: $35
Reserved Seats: $50
Access Tickets: $20
(Access tickets are our universal discount available to anyone in need of a discount)
Performance Schedule
January 22 – February 28, 2027
Previews: January 16, 17, and 21, 2027
Press Opening: Friday, January 22, 2027
Schedule: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 7:30 pm | Sunday matinees at 3 pm
Accessible Performances: To be announced
Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes with no intermission
Late Seating: Please note that late seating is not possible and that all tickets not claimed by the scheduled performance time may be released to the wait list. For questions about this, please contact our box office.
Contact us at info@steeptheatre.com or 773-649-3186 for more information.
Steep Theatre is supported in part through generous grants from the Paul Angell Foundation, the Bayless Family Foundation, the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council Agency, the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Activity, and the City of Chicago.
CAST
Nate Faust*
Pete Moore*
Melissa Riemer*
Omer Abbas Salem*
Creative Team
Director – Robin Witt*
Stage Manager – Lauren Lassus*
Production Manager – Jennifer Aparicio
Scenic Designer – Sotirios Livaditis
Lighting Designers – Brandon Wardell*
Costume Designer – Sally Dolembo
Sound Designer – Thomas Dixon*
Props Design: Spencer Diaz Tootle
Dramaturg: Jean Marie Higgins
Intimacy and Violence Consultant: Christina Gorman
Assistant Director: Spencer Diedrick
* Steep Company Member
Simon Stephens (Playwright)
Simon Stephens is a celebrated playwright and screenwriter whose work is known for its emotional resonance, intelligence and tenderness, and for revealing the extraordinary within ordinary lives. He is internationally renowned for his stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night‑Time, directed by Marianne Elliott, which won multiple Olivier and Tony Awards and has been produced worldwide. His Olivier Award‑winning Vanya, starring Andrew Scott, played at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York, and An Ark recently opened at The Shed as the first play written for augmented reality. His extensive body of work includes Heisenberg, Punk Rock, Three Kingdoms, Sea Wall, Birdland, Harper Regan and On the Shore of the Wide World. He is currently Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University and an Associate Professor at the Danish National School of the Performing Arts.
Robin Witt (Director)
Robin Witt is a Chicago-based theatre director and ensemble member of both Steep Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company. Her Chicago work includes productions with Steppenwolf, Goodman, Northlight, Lookingglass, Writers Theatre, and The Artistic Home. Her directing has earned multiple Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations, with productions recognized among the year’s best by the Chicago Tribune, Time Out Chicago, and other publications. Much of her career has centered on contemporary British theatre and bringing new and lesser-known plays to American audiences. Witt is a Professor of Directing at UNC Charlotte and holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University and a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is the daughter of the late actor Howard Witt. A Slow Fire is the seventh Simon Stephens play she has worked on with Steep Theatre.