​Written by Max Frisch, Adapted by Allistair Beaton
Lighting Design by Ryan Dunn
Set Design by Ryan Dunn, Bryce Bartl-Geller, and Mitchell Helton
Projection Design by Bryce Bartl-Geller 
Costume Design by Jennifer Oaster 

The Horse in Motion
Seattle, Washington 
May 2019 

Stories of arsonists burning down houses fill the news, but it could never happen here, right? The audience is invited into the center of this fiery and absurdist political parable as The Arsonists puts everyone in the hot-seat. The site-specific production is performed at Gallery Erato in historic Pioneer Square where the Seattle Great Fire raged over a century ago. With tough questions about fate, responsibility, and hair rejuvenator, this play asks the burning question of what it could mean to “burn it all down”.

“Decades before the phrase ‘burn it all down’ gained a certain ironic popularity in social-justice circles, Frisch, a Swiss playwright who wrote The Arsonists in 1953, was putting the idea to the test. Ramsey says this play asks, ‘Okay, if we're actually going to burn it down, then how do we hold the responsibility of that?’” - Rich Smith, The Stranger

“Director Bobbin Ramsey (who directed ‘The Nether’ at Washington Ensemble Theatre last year) said she hopes people will pick a preference before the play begins, then wonder afterward if they should’ve chosen differently. ‘The big question we want people to ask,” she said, “is what will you do when the match is lit?’” - Brendan Kiley, The Seattle Times

"It’s a solid staging from Horse in Motion company member/co-founder Bobbin Ramsey, cleverly utilizing different physical components of the space as playing areas including loft spaces." - Michael Strangeways, Seattle Gay Scene

Photos by Colby Wood