Poetic Licence – A Staged Reading
April 13, 2026 at 7:30 PM, Dutch playwright Frank Siera is bringing a staged reading of Poetic Licence to 7 Stages’ Mainstage.
This (probably) true story of British playwright Joe Orton and his partner Ken, who–in what might have been a psychotic episode–killed both Joe and himself; a play about playwrights and actors, about the difference between theatre and reality, about the difference between normalcy and dangerous absurdity, about homosexuality when it was considered both a crime and a mental illness, about what should or should not be normal, and the thin line between fiction and reality.
This staged reading includes a preshow introduction by playwright Frank Siera and 7 Stages Artistic Director Heidi S Howard, as well as a post-show Art of Activism dialogue centered on the boundaries of normalcy, questions of sanity and what is actually criminal behavior.
Content warning – descriptions of sexual violence and self harm.
Frank Siera (1989) is a Dutch playwright and stage director. He runs his own music theatre collective KASSETT, where he writes, directs and organises. Siera’s texts are typically inspired by a true story or legendary myth, philosophical in nature and written in a poetic and rhythmic style. Ever since he started writing, music has been an important influence, both in style and theme. In 2012, Siera graduated from the Dutch theatre academy in Maastricht with his own play SPRAAKWATER about the silent piano man who washed ashore in a British coastal town. SPRAAKWATER has since been translated and performed at the prestigious Festival D’Avignon in 2021, two different festivals in Brazil in 2022 and 2023 and tours throughout France, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. He wrote his first opera libretto RITRATTO for the renowned Dutch National Opera in 2020. RITRATTO was well-received with 5 stars by the BBC and nominated for an Edison, the Dutch equivalent of a Grammy award. His play SÂLT was performed in front of the Dutch King and Queen in 2023, at the well-known site specific theatre festival Oerol on the island of Terschelling. POETIC LICENCE, a play about British playwright Joe Orton and his partner Kenneth Halliwell, received rave reviews: “Frank Siera’s text plays a dark game with fiction and reality.” For 10 years, following his graduation in 2012, Siera collaborated with 7 Stages as a director and writing coach, in their yearly Dutch-American exchange and training program (Youth Creates and Bootcamp).
Credits
Playwright – Frank Siera
Director – Heidi S. Howard
Stage Manager – Kai Anwuzia
Joe Orton – Geoffrey Solomon
Ken Halliwell – Markell Williams
Edna Welthorpe – Destiny Renee
Musician – Deisha Oliver
