NextStop Theatre has done it again with their latest dark comedy, ↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword], from sharp, witty playwright Nia Akilah Robinson and director Heather Lanza. This edgy, eerie, energetic world premiere is absolutely worth the trek out of your house this winter.
↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword] centers around Dee Dee (Amber Patrice Coleman) and RiRi (Jasmine Proctor), two Black undergrad arts students who take a summer job working for the rather “eccentric,” white, 93-year-old Professor Diana Renword (Nicole Halmos) at her upscale, upstate New York estate. In addition to archiving Professor Renword’s late husband’s documentary films, their job is to look after Diana, particularly while she swims.
What begins as a deceivingly simple job soon escalates into a nightmare. As fear and panic grow, hidden truths emerge within the haunted home. The increasingly unstable and paranoid professor is forced to confront her past, while Dee Dee and RiRi struggle with their perceptions of the present. The young women must figure out how to escape not only the unsettling circumstances in which they have found themselves, but also the omnipresent weight of their collective ancestral trauma.
The conversation of ingrained racism is a principal part of this play; however, it still manages to be laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end. Nia Akilah Robinson’s contemporary voice cleverly confronts complex topics through the darkly comedic absurdities that surround them. This approach itself isn’t new; comedy has long served as a platform to bring hard truths to light, but Robinson seems to have tapped into something ineffably fresh.
Coleman and Proctor played excellently together, building off each other’s energy and reciting their conversational dialogue like a dance. Their honest portrayals of Dee Dee and RiRi made Robinson’s characters feel even more relatable, not to mention entertaining. They also complemented each other’s strengths. Proctor’s natural comedic timing and expository facial expressions amplified each button, while Coleman’s stunning vulnerability in her final monologue had me in tears from the moment her eyes began to well.
↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword] wasn’t just full of conversational dancing, but physical dancing, too. Each of the four lead characters (the household’s final member is Renword’s live-in servant, Jillian, played by Mary Myers, who is just as eccentric, if not more so, as the professor) all bend over backward in their roles … literally. The physicality, including everything from throwing their bodies to the floor to leaping over furniture and performing fun TikTok routines, heightened the production’s predominantly comedic tone.
Despite Coleman and Proctor’s constant energy, we could rely on these two to serve as the grounding force of the show, whereas the characters of Professor Renword and Jillian felt much more in line with classic over-the-top horror-genre tropes. This juxtaposition really heightened the show’s disconcerting tone and was reflected in other aspects, including the costumes by costume designer Imari Pyles.
Jillian, when dressed in her attendant garb (which included a high-collared ruffled shirt, a suit jacket with tails, knickers, knee-high socks, and a black wig), almost resembled a character out of The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Addams Family. Professor Renword’s costumes were intended to further the narrative of a white-savior type who appropriates cultures without even realizing it. She wore head wraps, long shawls, and tribal and/or South Asian printed skirts and flowing pants. She also pulled out a sage stick at one point and gesticulated around the stage in an attempt to perform an indigenous chant/dance.
The setting, as a means of highlighting the haunted house motifs mapped against the commentary on racial and financial inequality, is a vital part of this play. Scenic designer Shartoya R. Jn. Baptiste and props and puppetry designer/scenic dresser Leigh K. Rawls bring this show to life through their elaborate, earth-toned set and its various props that not only serve the present narrative but also work as a successful world-building technique to suggest the precarious past of both the house and its residents.
It was clear that a lot of work went into the set design and dressing to create Professor Renword’s estate. Several large pieces had to be constructed, including a wooden staircase leading to an upper portion of the house, which, although not seen onstage, felt very real due to the cleverly designed forced perspective in the wall and art placement. The design concept also created the illusion, through a forced-perspective fence, that beyond the large, hinged patio doors, there really existed a backyard with a pool.
The lighting by lighting designer Hailey LaRoe and lead electrician Emma E. Smith amplified the incredibly detailed set design and props, elevating the production value to the point where, at times, it felt more like watching a new-age indie film than a play. Flickering internal lights, including lamps, candles, and an impressive hanging chandelier, helped sell the haunted house effect. The overhead lights, blacking out the stage or strobing down on it, added an eerie discomfort. And the reflection of blue and/or red lights against the windows to enhance the silhouettes and shadows of angry neighbors outside furthered the theme of festering fear.
↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword] is NextStop Producing Artistic Director Heather Lanza’s directorial debut at the theater. She and her creative team have brought to life a smart, funny, character-driven play that tackles big topics through a fresh lens.
Running Time: Approximately Two hours and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword] plays through February 22, 2026, at NextStop Theatre, 269 Sunset Park Dr., Herndon, VA. Tickets are available beginning at $45 and can be purchased online.
The program is online here.
SEE ALSO:
NextStop Theatre to premiere ‘↓D←R←O←W←N←E←R [Renword]’ by Nia Akilah Robinson (news story, January 11, 2026)
