Performances begin March 29 at Playwrights Horizons for the world premiere of Halley Feiffer’s The Pain of My Belligerence. Told over an eight-year timeline, the new play holds the fraught power dynamics of a relationship up against the country’s current shifting of patriarchal culture.
Trip Cullman (Choir Boy, Lobby Hero)—marking his and playwright Feiffer's sixth collaboration—directs a cast made up of Feiffer, Hamish Linklater, Vanessa Kai, Keira Belle Young, and Phoebe Young.
In The Pain of My Belligerence, Cat (played by Feiffer) is a journalist at the top of her game: tack-sharp and ambitious, and rapidly establishing her place in the field. Cat meets the crass yet charismatic—and married—Guy, played by Linklater, and the attrition begins.
Feiffer began writing the play in the lead-up to the 2016 election, as she noticed the number of men decrying rampant misogyny while simultaneously mirroring it. “I was very interested in the hypocrisy of self-identifying liberals, because I see that hypocrisy in myself too," explains Feiffer. "It goes hand in hand with a lot of profound frustrations common in heterosexual romantic relationships, which I’ve experienced myself—particularly the corrosive effects of toxic masculinity on men and women alike.”
The creative team for The Pain of My Belligerence is rounded out by Mark Wendland (scenic designer), Paloma Young (costume designer), Ben Stanton (lighting designer), Elisheba Ittoop (original music and sound designer), and Katie Ailinger (production stage manager).
Feiffer is a writer and actor. Her plays include Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow, which will be seen at MCC Theater, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York City, and I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard. On Broadway, she has been seen in The Front Page and The House of Blue Leaves, as well as Off-Broadway in productions including The Substance of Fire, Medieval Play, and Still Life, among others.
The Pain of My Belligerence will continue through May 12. For tickets and more information visit PlaywrightsHorizons.org.
