University of Wisconsin Oshkosh theatre professor and playwright Richard Kalinoski’s Beast on the Moon will be produced in London for the first time in 20 years when it is presented at the prominent Finborough Theatre.

“I am always honored and often excited about these productions,” Kalinsoki said, adding that he will travel to Finborough, where a four-week limited season begins Jan. 29.

The playwright said he believes the longevity of Beast on the Moon is due to two main features of the play: It is a love story, and it examines some of the struggles confronting immigrants in the U.S. He said it is a “difficult” love story set in Milwaukee in 1921.

“Aram believes he will begin a new life when his teenage mail-order bride, Seta, arrives to join him. They are a couple united by history—both survivors of the Armenian Genocide. But their painful shared experience does nothing to promote domestic harmony as Aram is obsessed with creating a family to replace the one he lost in such savage circumstances. Seta, just 15 and trapped by the traditions of the old ways, struggles to embrace her new life in a new country.”

Kalinoski is said to have crafted a “beautifully written, universal story of hope and healing,” according to a review by Finborough Theatre. “Last performed in London in the 1990s, Beast on the Moon remains a play for our times—a powerful exploration of legacy for so many refugees.”

Beast on the Moon has been translated into 19 languages to date and has been performed in at least 20 countries. Some of the notable productions have been in Italy, Canada, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, France, England, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Armenia, Serbia and the U.S.

Kalinoski said productions are pending in Paris and in Japan.

The production in London was commissioned by the Finborough Theatre. It will be presented by All Ignite Theatre in association with Neil McPherson and directed by Jelena Budimir. Budimir returns to the Finborough Theatre, following her production of Bruce Graham’s White Guy on the Bus, which was nominated for four Off West End awards, including Best Director in 2018.

There are two productions of Beast on the Moon being planned later this year in the U.S.—at the Unity Theatre in Brenham, Texas, and at International City Theatre in Long Beach, California.

Hear the playwright: In anticipation of Beast on the Moon opening in London, the prominent Jewish Renaissance magazine in London has published a podcast interview in its JR Outloud, with Kalinoski.