Mad Gravity by William Missouri Downs

(2)
Productions (20)
Farce
|
85 - 95 minutes
3 W, 2 M, 
Content Notes: Adult language.
Set: Living room box set.

High school sweethearts Dakota and Tommy couldn't have more different parents. Joe and Mary are a conservative, middle-class couple, while Archie and Eudora are performance artists who have built a theater in their living room. When Joe and Mary meet Archie and Eudora for the first time, they unwittingly find themselves the stars of the couple's latest performance piece. But when the couples learn news of a comet heading straight toward Earth, the fourth wall is the least of their problems. But can they stop bickering long enough to tackle the great philosophical questions of life? Is the comet a sign from God or just gravity? And what the hell is Dadaism?

Pricing Information

Min. Performance Fee* $85
Standard Edition $13.99
eScript Digital Edition $17.5
Stage Manager Edition $24.99
Archival Video License $150

*The per performance fee begins at $85. Your per performance fee will be provided during the ordering process.

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Playscripts is pleased to offer an Archival Video License for an additional $150 for full-length plays and $75 for one-act plays.

Play Details

High school sweethearts Dakota and Tommy couldn't have more different parents. Joe and Mary are a conservative, middle-class couple, while Archie and Eudora are performance artists who have built a theater in their living room. When Joe and Mary meet Archie and Eudora for the first time, they unwittingly find themselves the stars of the couple's latest performance piece. But when the couples learn news of a comet heading straight toward Earth, the fourth wall is the least of their problems. But can they stop bickering long enough to tackle the great philosophical questions of life? Is the comet a sign from God or just gravity? And what the hell is Dadaism?

Finalist at the Eugene O'Neill National Conference Finalist

  • Farce
  • |
  • 85 - 95 minutes
  • 3 W, 2 M, 
  • Content Notes: Adult language.
  • Set: Living room box set.
  • Standard Edition ISBN: 978-1-68069-006-4

Published Reviews

"Downs is playing clever, agile games with reality, perception and identity here. This play is a highly elastic exercise in irony and self-awareness of from that put me in mind of The Stunt Man, and perhaps I'm a sucker for this stuff, but Mad Gravity is inspired satire and one of the best times you're likely to have in a theatre this month."

Arts Louisville

"Funny, fast and thought-provoking"

Insider Louisville

"For a wildly different evening of fun theater."

Bloomington Herald Times

"Exquisitely smart, with brilliant comic riffs on Dadaism, religion, domestic relations and personal morality (after all, if the world is actually going to end in an hour, figuring out whether looting, praying or having sex is the best way to validate the significance of life becomes a question of some urgency)."

Louisville Weekly

Production History

APR 25, 2025 - MAY 09, 2025
Rosedale Community Players
Southfield, MI United States
Rosedale Community PlayersSouthfield, MI United States
DEC 01, 2023 - DEC 02, 2023
Northern lights
Labrador City, NF Canada
Northern lightsLabrador City, NF Canada
APR 07, 2022 - APR 09, 2022
Fresno State University
Fresno, CA United States
Fresno State UniversityFresno, CA United States
JUL 27, 2019 - JUL 27, 2019
QUIVER Productions
Bengaluru, India
QUIVER ProductionsBengaluru, India
JUL 07, 2019 - JUL 07, 2019
QUIVER Productions
BANGALORE, India
QUIVER ProductionsBANGALORE, India
JUN 14, 2019 - JUN 15, 2019
Spark Theatre Company
San Antonio, TX United States
Spark Theatre CompanySan Antonio, TX United States
JUN 07, 2019 - JUN 15, 2019
SPARK Theatre Company
San Antonio, TX United States
SPARK Theatre CompanySan Antonio, TX United States
MAY 11, 2019 - MAY 11, 2019
QUIVER Productions
Bangalore, India
QUIVER ProductionsBangalore, India
APR 20, 2019 - APR 21, 2019
QUIVER Productions
Bangalore, India
QUIVER ProductionsBangalore, India
OCT 12, 2018 - OCT 14, 2018
SALT
Richmond, VA United States
SALTRichmond, VA United States
1 of 2
No upcoming productions.
JUL 07, 2015 - JUL 11, 2015
University of Wyoming Theatre
Laramie, WY United States
University of Wyoming TheatreLaramie, WY United States

Awards (1)

Winner of The Reva Shiner Comedy Award @ Bloomington Playwrights Project

Archival Video License

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eScript Details

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