Priyanka Shetty's solo play #CHARLOTTESVILLE will premiere at Washington, D.C.’s Keegan Theatre from March 22-April 13, 2025. The production will be directed by Yury Urnov, a 2024 Tony Award winner as co-artistic director of the Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater (Best Regional Theater). Urnov’s prodigious directing credits include My Mama and The Full-Scale Invasion, winner of the 2024 Helen Hayes Award for the best theater production in Washington DC.
Written and performed by Shetty, #CHARLOTTESVILLE chronicles the tragic events of August 11th and 12th, 2017, when white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia for the "Unite the Right" rally on the pretext of expressing outrage against the removal of the confederate monument of Robert E. Lee. These rallies lead to a violent clash with counter-protesters, the deaths of 32-year-old Heather Heyer, two state troopers and at least 19 serious injuries.
Constructed verbatim from interviews with over a hundred local residents, court transcripts, and news reports, #CHARLOTTESVILLE offers a nuanced examination of the complex issues surrounding race and identity, and how they intersect with the broader political and cultural landscape of the United States.
#CHARLOTTESVILLE follows Shetty's critically acclaimed solo performances, including The Elephant in the Room, which has toured internationally and played at the Keegan Theatre in addition to her involvement in high-profile cultural festivals and symposiums. The play has already earned rave reviews for its powerful, immersive storytelling and its exploration of timely issues of race, politics, and community.
Shetty has been awarded a generous grant by the National Endowment of the Arts for the development of The Wall, which will follow The Elephant in the Room and #CHARLOTTESVILLE as the third and final play in her Triptych of Solos. Triptych of Solos will have a coordinated nationwide premiere across multiple cities in 2025/26.
Susan Marie Rhea, Artistic Director of the Keegan Theatre observes:
“Priyanka is a shining example of the kind of extraordinary artist we are honored to support, and we are thrilled to have her back at Keegan. Her unique and insightful perspective, compelling theatricality, and raw storytelling is a galvanizing force - and one that will be more potent and urgent than ever with #CHARLOTTESVILLE."
John Sticklin, Artistic Director of the Keegan’s Boiler Room Series observes:
“We are honored to support and premiere Priyanka Shetty’s #CHARLOTTESVILLE—because now, more than ever, we need bold, unflinching storytelling. In an era where extremists are emboldened, where revisionist history and censorship are being used as tools to distort truth and silence artists, this new work stands as an urgent act of resistance. #CHARLOTTESVILLE doesn’t just reflect on the past—it confronts the present, challenging audiences to reckon with the forces of hate and misinformation that continue to threaten our democracy. Theatre has always been a battleground for truth, and we are proud to champion this fearless work at a time when speaking out is not just necessary—it’s essential.”
Director Yury Urnov observes:
“As an immigrant, much like Priyanka, I bring a perspective to this production that is part-outsider, part-insider. Both of us, like so many others, arrived in this country with a magical image of the ‘city upon a hill,’ and over time, we’ve seen how those images evolve, often revealing deep cracks. My own perception of Charlottesville’s events has changed dramatically since 2017. Back then, I was still able to believe the torch-bearing rally was just the actions of isolated individuals. But now, in 2025, the political reality shows us that they have broken out of their basements and are threatening the very foundations of the country. The necessity of this play for me lies in not just exploring how it all began but also asking a pressing question: What are our fates—both in this country and in the world—as we confront the forces that have broken free from the shadows and now threaten our shared future? I hope our exploration offers something valuable to the ongoing conversation.”
Priyanka Shetty observes:
"Charlottesville marked a pivotal moment in our country’s political and social landscape, with consequences that continue to resonate today. The events of 2017 laid bare the depth of division and hate that still threaten to tear apart our communities, and #CHARLOTTESVILLE remains as urgent now as it was when I first began working on it in 2019. Under Yury Urnov’s visionary direction, #CHARLOTTESVILLE honors the voices of the local residents who were interviewed for this project, while exposing the hateful ideology that fuels the Alt Right.”
About The Keegan Theatre
The Keegan Theatre is an award-winning professional theater located in Dupont Circle, the heart of Washington D.C. Since its founding in 1996, the company has been guided by its vision as a cultural catalyst in Washington D.C. and its mission to produce potent theatrical experiences for all in an intimate setting, earning 21 Theatre Washington Helen Hayes Awards and more than 120 nominations. Additionally, Keegan is proud to house three important programs that go beyond its mainstage programming: the Keegan PLAY-RAH-KA (PRK) education program for young people and emerging artists, the Boiler Room Series (BRS) new works development initiative, and the KeeganConnects community access and engagement program. www.keegantheatre.com.
About Priyanka Shetty
Priyanka Shetty is an award-winning actor, playwright, and director based in Philadelphia. Her critically acclaimed one-woman show The Elephant in the Room has been performed at numerous venues across the US and internationally, including The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC and the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe at the Assembly Festival, which led to a tour in Scotland. She made her Off-Broadway debut with this play at 59E59 Theaters in NYC.
Priyanka is an alumna of the prestigious Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive. She has served on the jury of Open Screenplay's MFilm Lab in Canada and as a mentor for emerging screenwriters of South Asian descent, and most recently on the jury for the 2024 Atlanta Indian Film Festival. Priyanka earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting from the University of Virginia and has served on the faculty of the University of Virginia’s Department of Drama.
About Yury Urnov
Yury Urnov is an award-winning American theatre director and producer. In 2024, Yury received the highest US theatre award as a co-artistic director of the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia (Best Regional Theater Tony Award). The performance of My Mama And The Full-Scale Invasion he directed was named the Best Theatre Production in Washington DC of 2024 (Helen Hayes Award). The Wilma of Philadelphia Yury leads is one of the best-known experimental theatres nationwide in the United States. It is specifically famous for its splendid and diverse HotHouse acting company and the innovative shared-leadership model. Among other accomplishments, under Yury’s tenure, the Wilma Theater commissioned and produced the 2022 Pulitzer Prize winning play Fat Ham by James Ijames.Yury also teaches at the Towson State University in Maryland and serves as an Associate Director of the Center of International Theater Development – a leading organization for international theatre exchange in the US.
Comments