2024 Essential Theatre Play Festival: Fat Juliet, by Bridget McCarthy

CRITIC’S PICK: Essential Theatre Play Festival, 7 Stages - Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Essential Theatre’s annual array of Georgia playwrights runs through Sep. 1 and features premiere productions of Emily McClain’s ‘The Rock & The Hard Place’ along with ‘The Other Part of the Picture,’ written by Peter Hardy, the Essential’s founder and artistic director. Other plays on the schedule include ‘African Roscius’ by Marlon Andrew Burnley and Bridget McCarthy’s ‘Fat Juliet,’ as well as the popular ‘10 Minute Play Bootcamp Showcase.’ There will also be staged readings of new local plays as part of the Bare Essentials series, and one-night-only presentations of Georgia artists’ work. “When I started Essential, I wanted to do something to be supportive of writers in the area and give them an opportunity,” Hardy told Broadway World. “At that time, there were not very many new plays by Georgia writers being produced in the Atlanta area. That’s something that has changed a lot over the years, which is wonderful.” - Kevin C. Madigan