Skip to main content

This show is archived

This “scorchingly ambitious,” (The Guardian), genre-busting American premiere follows mothers and daughters over two centuries, from the dawn of the age of oil in 1889 to its “peak oil” demise sometime in the not-too-distant future. In five separate but connected playlets, a single mother named May defies the odds to provide for her daughter Amy by any means necessary. From Cornwall to Tehran, London, Baghdad, and back, the mother-daughter power struggle evolves and shifts, even as the resources that fuel it (and the rest of the world) begin to dwindle. This American premiere is bursting with theatricality and big ideas about feminism, imperialism, and environmentalism from a leading playwright wowing audiences in the U.K.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

By
Ella Hickson

Directed by
Tracy Brigden

Trailer for Oil by Ella Hickson

  • Sarah Corey

    Anne/Anna/Aminah
  • Catherine Eaton

    May
  • Maboud Ebramizadeh

    William Whitcomb/Mr. Farouk
  • Chris Genebach

    Joss
  • Megan Graves

    Amy
  • Christopher McLinden

    Samuel/Officer Samuel
  • Eric M. Messner

    Tom/Mr. Thomas/Thomas
  • Tuyet Thi Pham

    Fan Wang/Fanny
  • Sam Saint Ours

    Nate
  • Claire Schoonover

    Ma Singer
  • Ella Hickson

    Playwright
  • Tracy Brigden

    Director
  • Luciana Stecconi

    Scenic Designer
  • Michael Krass

    Costume Designer
  • Robert Croghan

    Costume Designer
  • Colin K. Bills

    Lighting Designer
  • Kenny Neal

    Sound Designer
  • Daniel Brodie

    Projections Designer
  • Carlyn Aquiline

    Dramaturg
  • Zachary Campion

    Dialect Coach
  • Richard Lundy

    Production Stage Manager

Reviews

Press

What Social Media is Saying...

"An audacious piece of writing... a huge, ambitious study of co-dependency: mother and daughter, man and machine, east and west, Britain and empire."

Time Out London

Seat Map

Oil House Map

All performances of Oil are General Admission. If you require wheelchair seating or have other mobility issues, please include this information in your order or email [email protected]

Ella Hickson talks about Oil

Oil

February 27 - March 31 2019

Box Office: 301.924.3400

Open Wednesday - Saturday: 12:00PM - 6:00PM

Mailing list

Keep up to date with our latest events & offers:

Join our mailing list