Panndora Productions

Delilah

A Virtual Workshop

Written by Niv Elbaz
Directed by Sonja Berggren
Cast Maura Grace Athari, Joshua Evans, Zach Kanner, Tamika Katon-Donegal
Venue Virtual Event

After creating Beast, Sam; a graphic novelist with epic popularity, struggles to find his next big hit. He is pushed by Laraine; a publishing agent of Dark Horse Comics, to break out of his comfort zone, while his seemingly optimistic best friend; Roland pushes him to get out of his head and live his life. Enter Delilah. She is a mystery, captured in only small fragments over the internet. She pushes Sam in ways the others can't. Finding solace in each other's company makes them feel slightly less alone in the worlds they've created for themselves. The story quickly progresses, all the while Sam feels like his life is spiraling out of his control as inspiration takes control of the characters and leads them all down paths they could have never expected.

From the playwright, Niv Elbaz:

I have always been fascinated by the Samson and Delilah myth because of the bold "exaggerations" the story presented its characters with. Such as a man who drew superhuman strength from his hair. Or that, not unlike Adam and Eve, a woman is blamed for a man's ruin. Because of how the myth is told Samson and Delilah are characters that are purely represented by their archetypes, which I have always believed dehumanized them as actual people. As I thought about the myth more and more I was so interested in tearing off their "archetypal layers" and attempt to discover their very human aspects, such as their flaws and vulnerabilities. I wanted to drag these aspects to the forefront and connect them to contemporary themes such as "toxic relationships" and how easy it is to dehumanize someone through a virtual landscape. But most of all I wanted to tell a raw, compelling and modern interpretation of the myth that treated these characters as they deserve to be treated: as human beings.