Aunt Dan and Lemon

In the final days of 2025, Sketchbook Theatre presented a private workshop reading of Wallace Shawn’s Aunt Dan and Lemon. A formidable ensemble of seven actors performed the play in the intimate Upper West Side townhouse setting of Lethe Lounge, all underscored by Mark Ettinger’s superb live music.

This work doesn’t pull its punches, exploring how even the most literate and “civilized” societies can slide, almost politely, into brutality. Shawn’s darkly brilliant storytelling — personal charm mixed with political horror — speaks to today’s global tilt toward authoritarianism as urgently as ever.