VENUS

VENUS is a dark star-gazing comedy by playwright Steve Yockey, directed by Woolly Mammoth’s new Artistic Director Reggie D. White. It kicks off Woolly Mammoth’s 2026–2027 season as a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, and it is one of five world-premiere plays in White’s inaugural season, a lineup that introduces five playwrights new to the company. The show’s tagline warns that sometimes the scariest part of dating is what you bring with you, and the plot follows two very different women whose passionate romance curdles into obsession.

Nicole is a creature of order: she keeps her dating profile clean, her apartment curated, and her exits clear. Beth, by contrast, operates on instinct, showing up uninvited to book club, sending an overwhelming number of flowers, and sweeping Nicole away for a midnight date under the stars. What begins as an intoxicating meeting of opposites turns strange when romance descends into fixation, fear takes on a life of its own, and both women are haunted by a mysterious woman in a red raincoat. Woolly describes the production as a celestial fever dream that launches the season with a bang, or perhaps a shovel, and Yockey is known as the creator of HBO’s The Flight Attendant and Netflix’s Dead Boy Detective.

When: September 9 through October 4, 2026.

Venue: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, D.C.

Tickets: No per-ticket price is listed. Woolly is promoting a Golden Ticket season pass, which offers guaranteed access to nearly every project in the season on any date, in any seat, as often as the ticket holder likes.

Lineup: Written by Steve Yockey and directed by Reggie D. White.

Run time: Not specified.

Showtimes: Not specified in the source; the production runs September 9 through October 4, 2026.

Ages: No age restriction is listed.

Note: VENUS is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere and serves as the opening production of Woolly Mammoth’s 2026–2027 season, the first curated by Reggie D. White.