InterAct
Theatre Company is presenting the Philadelphia Premiere of This Much I Know
through November 22, 2026 at The Proscenium Theatre at the Drake. Three actors,
Sorab Wadia, Jessica Dalcanton, and Mark Worth play more than a dozen roles
across genders, generations, continents and ideologies. The play begins with Sorab
Wadia, as narrator, speaking to the audience about making inferences or connections
to two things that are not related. He does this by showing a projection of
peaches and then one of slugs and asks how many would want a peach from the
first offering. A moment later an announcement is made that there is a fire on
a floor above requiring immediate evacuation. Not sure whether or not this is
part of the show, everyone quickly files out of the theatre space and congregates
outside. By the time everyone is outside, an all-clear signal is issued, a sign to return to our
seats. Presumably this fire-drill only happened on opening night, but perhaps
it is part of the show- a random accident that our brains are trying to bring to
order. Jessica DaCanton is excellent as Svetlana, Stalin’s daughter and,
decades later, as Natalia, Lukesh’s wife, who disappears to Russia seeking information
about Svetlana and her grandmother generations earlier. Mark Worth shows great depth
as an actor as he plays the silly role of a young girl (see photo), a son of an
American white supremacist and the subsequent questioning of the ideals he has
been raised with, and several roles in Russia. Sorab Wadia is the cement of
this piece. He begins as a narrator, addressing the audience; he performs as a psychology
professor, calmly working with Harold, tutoring him and getting him to
question his father’s beliefs; and periodically he has scenes with his wife,
Natalia and/or discussing her with the audience. The set design is outstanding in
its simplicity. Walls are pushed around to present furnishings and another
scene on the other side. Backdrops are provided for projections. In two scenes,
it appears that Natalia is on a train with scenery passing by her. One
remarkable scene has Svetlana interacting with a life-like projection of Natalia ( or perhaps Natalia's grandmother).
This play is sometimes confusing as the time jumps back and forth from the present
to the 1930’s and back again, but the acting and the staging certainly make it
well worth your while to get tickets to see it. For tickets or more information, visit https://www.interacttheatre.org/this-much-i-know or call 215-568-8079.
