In the Next Room
(or the vibrator play)

written by sarah ruhl
directed by les waters
main season | roda theatre
january 30–march 15, 2009
world premiere

the play

Coming in January, it’s the world premiere of In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), written by Sarah Ruhl and staged by Les Waters. Last time these two extraordinary talents teamed up at Berkeley Rep, they gave birth to Eurydice, the beguiling show which went on to New Haven and New York—hitting the year’s Top 10 list in Time magazine and the New York Times. Now the prominent pair reunites to consummate another play of love and longing, commissioned by Berkeley Rep. In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) illuminates the lives of six lonely people seeking relief from a local doctor—but, despite his expertise with a strange new technology, all they really need is intimacy. It’s a tender tale that takes place in the twilight of the Victorian age, an elegant comedy lit by unexpected sparks from the approaching era of electricity, equality, science and sexuality.

the players

Sarah Ruhl is the author of acclaimed plays such as The Clean House, Dead Man’s Cell Phone and Passion Play: A Cycle. The young writer has already earned a MacArthur Fellowship, the Helen Merrill Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award and a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize.

Les Waters won an Obie Award for Big Love and his shows have ranked among the Top 10 Plays of 2007 in Time Magazine, 2006 in the New York Times and 2005 in TimeOut New York. His recent hits here at home include The Glass Menagerie, The Pillowman and TRAGEDY: a tragedy.

the buzz

“Many playwrights aspire to geniusdom, but few have it thrust upon them at the ripe age of 32…Soft-spoken and refined, Ruhl has a girlish quality that belies the emotional and artistic complexity of her plays.”—TimeOut New York

“Ruhl, like Dickinson, is a wild original…Even when she tackles darker topics—heartbreak, loss, disease, and death—her touch is light.”—Smithsonian

“I have worked with many stunning young voices, but I have been blessed with a continuing conversation with Ruhl over the years…I turn to Sarah as a trusted and beloved colleague who still has one of the most unique minds in theater I’ve encountered.”—Paula Vogel, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright

“The Golden Ruhl has the Midas touch.”—Washington Post

Press Photos

season sponsors

This production is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award.

In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)