NOVA
Written and performed by Obehi Janice
Directed by Caitlin Sullivan
Dramaturged by Nissy Aya
4 August 2023 to 27 August 2023
The Royal Lyceum Studio Theatre, Edinburgh
“She’s casual, she’s chill, she’s not trying too-too hard but she could also ruin your life”.
Written and performed by award-winning writer and actress Obehi Janice (Blindspotting on Starz, Dicktown on FX) comes Nova - a new theatre-storytelling show following a Nigerian-American comedian as she navigates desire, power, and pussy.
Nova is a bit of a romantic. She’s smooth. She’s good with her words. And she loves to fuck.
She’s making an archive - a gallery of lovers - The Story of Her Life.
Nova has discovered that Giacomo Casanova, ‘best known as one of the most famous lovers in history’, did the same. Why does this scammy white European man claim the title and the story? Casanova exists in notoriety and glory but Nova does it better.
Funny, insightful and groundbreaking, Nova moves us through a series of her romantic and sexual entanglements that will make us laugh, squirm, and holler. Co-produced by Pemberley Productions and The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh in association with PW Productions, Nova is the final show - and the only show the world ever really needed - about Casanova.
CREATIVE TEAM
Scenic Design Eleanor Kahn
Costume Design Ari Fulton
Lighting Design Isabella Byrd
Sound Design Kathy Ruvuna
Stage Manager Nakia Shalice Avila
ASSOCIATE GENERAL MANAGER ANNIE SHEA GRANEY
PRODUCERS Doreen Sayegh & Tim SMITH
Image art direction: Obehi Janice and Hannah Caprara
Photographer: Hannah Caprara
OBEHI JANICE
is an award-winning writer, actress and comedian whose multi-genre work spans from stage to screen. Her plays include Nova and Ole White Sugah Daddy (Kilroys’ List 2019). She plays Heather Culbreth on Dicktown (FX) and has written for Blindspotting (Starz) and Castle Rock (Hulu). She won an IRNE Award for Best Solo Performance in 2017 and was recognized by Essence Magazine as a Black Woman In Hollywood To Know in 2022. She was a member of the 2018-19 Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater, a Luminary Artist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, a TCG Fox Foundation Resident Actor at Company One Theatre and the recipient of two Creative Residencies at SPACE on Ryder Farm. Originally from Lowell, Massachusetts, Obehi is based in Los Angeles, California. She is repped by CAA.
“I am obsessed with the idea of love. As a Black diasporic woman, the concept of love -- of attaining it, of falling in and out of it, of cultivating it -- has been denied to me both openly and insidiously. In deep trust and communication with my friend and collaborator Caitlin Sullivan, we are cracking open the danger of how we talk about love, the crackling energy of sharing one's story, and the fun in making persona and character seamlessly combine. Our process comes from a place of healing, survival and transformation.”
CAITLIN SULLIVAN
is a director based in New York City. Recent work includes The Good John Proctor (Talene Monahon/Bedlam), WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY (ruth tang/Clubbed Thumb) and the remount of Sanctuary City (Martyna Majok/NYTW). She is currently developing Ohio with The Bengsons and United States v Gupta with Deepali Gupta. Caitlin previously collaborated with Obehi on Ole White Sugah Daddy.
“I have been thinking a lot about idealism and irony, two sides of the same forgetting coin. Two ways to get out of feeling, to avoid implication, to float on top of what is hard and deep and full of grief. My work centers around how we approach the deep wounds. Stories about inherited hurt. Stories about how we live history intra and interpersonally. Stories about intimacy and our struggles in approaching it. Stories about characters who are so lonely in this world and so hungry for another one. Nova is a chance to approach these questions in deep collaboration and through an entirely new form.”
Photo by Delaine Dacko
TOURING details
Nova is available for touring engagements following its Edinburgh production. Please contact doreen@pemberleyproductions.com for more information.