My name is Simon Henriques and this is my website.
 

Nightdrive

As the co-artistic director of Nightdrive, I co-write, co-produce, and co-star in structurally experimental, technically ambitious plays. Our most recent show, The Grown-Ups, extended its sold-out run three times; Time Out New York called it “the coolest new play you probably can’t see” and included it on their list of the top 10 shows of 2021. In 2022 we took it on tour, it was published by Concord Theatricals, and we’re in the process of adapting it into a feature film.

We’ve been resident artists at The Williamstown Theatre Festival, Ars Nova, and Pipeline Theatre. Our show Society was a semifinalist for the American Playwriting Foundation’s Relentless Award.

Here’s some information about our work:

 

The Grown-Ups

 

by Skylar Fox & Simon Henriques
directed by Skylar Fox
created with and performed by Emily Elyse Everett, Simon Henriques, Chloe Joy Ivanson, Abby Melick, and Justin Phillips

The campers are all finally asleep, and the lake is getting quiet. Have a beer; make a s’more; tell a scary story. Figure out what you’re going to have to do in the morning to keep camp fun and safe without letting the kids find out about...well, you’ve seen the news. I just got a push notification—they’re getting closer. 

Following a group of camp counselors trying to mold the leaders of tomorrow when tomorrow is looking bleaker and bleaker, The Grown-Ups explores the traditions that change us, what it takes for us to change them, and how to change yourself when you’re hopelessly, tragically not prepared for this.

 
 

The Grown-Ups premiered in my backyard in July 2021. The sold-out run extended three times, until it was so cold we couldn’t perform outside anymore. In summer 2022, we took the show on tour to Theater with a View in Pottstown, PA and Constellation Stage & Screen in Bloomington, IN. We’re currently adapting it into a feature film, to be produced by Constellation Stage & Screen.

You can purchase the script or license the show through Concord Theatricals.

 
 

Here are some nice things people said about the show:

Time Out New York gave the show four stars and put it on their list of the Top 10 NYC Theatre Productions of 2021. They called it “the coolest new play you probably can’t see” and wrote that “Fox and Henriques weave their plot lines skillfully and suspensefully as they investigate questions of progress, perspective and responsibility; the world of the camp is rich with precise detail, and the cast maintains an impressive degree of naturalism even from just a few feet away from the spectators.”

No Proscenium said that the show had “one of the darkest and wittiest scripts I have experienced in the immersive world, which in turn leads to some of the finest performances by an ensemble I have ever seen.” They included us on their list of the best immersive theatre of 2021.

Broad Street Review said that “this superlative production...keeps the balance between humor, suspense, nostalgia, and possibility just right. To make matters better, I can’t remember a stronger ensemble.”

TheaterMania said, “This evocative and deeply unsettling meditation on the uncertainty of life in a culturally divided society more than meets the national moment.”

 

Alien Nation

 

by Skylar Fox & Simon Henriques
directed by Skylar Fox
created with and performed by Carrie Adams, Simon Henriques, Elisha Mudly, Alexander Paris, Graham Techler, and Jessie Kenner Tidball

Alien Nation is a live, immersive alien movie about a group of college seniors who might be terrible people, and the race of aliens that invade their bodies to make them better. Running from the FBI, who are coming to neutralize the extraterrestrial threat, these kids are forced to reckon with what it means to change, to outgrow and be outgrown by those you love, and to try to be a better human being. Complete with an original film score, dancing, stage magic, practical effects, a 360 degree set design, and more, Alien Nation casts and recasts its audience as extras in a wild, funny, theatrical thriller tinged with existential regret.

 
 

Alien Nation premiered at Paradise Factory in September 2018. The immersive theatre publication No Proscenium called it “a masterclass for immersive creators.”

 

Providence, RI

 

by Skylar Fox & Simon Henriques
directed by Skylar Fox
created with and performed by Zina Ellis, Danielle Guido, Simon Henriques, Chloe Joy Ivanson, and Ava Langford

There's this town. All these people live there. There are all these places they live in. And eat at. And avoid. And die in. It's the kind of town you hear about and think: “I should take a trip up there. For the fall colors.” But you never do. Tonight is all about this town. And its people. And their places. There are giant squirrels in this town, and a set of quintuplets mysteriously separated at birth—but we'll get to them later. Providence, RI explores how people build towns, how towns build memories, and how those memories build new people and towns altogether.

 
 

Providence, RI premiered at The Tank as part of their Flint & Tinder series in January 2017. Theatre Is Easy wrote, “The show is richly thought-out and incredibly complex, and following the threads is deeply enjoyable. Providence, RI is extremely smart, funny, sincere, and creepy, with something for everyone.”

 

Apathy Boy

 

by Skylar Fox & Simon Henriques
directed by Skylar Fox
performed by Justin Phillips, Anna Nemetz, and Simon Henriques

“What part of ‘I don't care’ don't you understand?” he says in a measured tone, as he gives that signature “Whatever” shrug. It’s Apathy Boy. Yay.

In a world that cares too much, Apathy Boy is really good at saving himself. In an alternate world, a high school boy tells Apathy Boy’s story as he draws it into life. As these worlds collide, a hero meets his maker, and nothing will ever be the same.

This dramatic comedy is told onstage in multiple dimensions, with three live actors playing over twenty roles as they interact with video and animation design by Alex Lee.

 
 

Apathy Boy premiered at The Brick as part of The Comic Book Theatre Festival in June 2014. It was remounted at Ars Nova for ANT Fest in June 2015.

The play was a finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Playwrights Conference.