Captive Audience

Four hostages held in Iraq — a British diplomat, an American engineer, a television journalist and a freelance photographer — are the focus of prize-winning playwright E.M. Lewis’s Heads, a provocative and emotional take on what could be an all-too-real situation. Chosen as a season opener by Susan Lyles of the And Toto Too Theatre Company, which is dedicated to presenting new works by women playwrights, Heads is in the middle of a month-long run at the Denver Victorian Playhouse, 4201 Hooker Street.

Lyles, whose own brother has returned from service in Iraq, sees the work as a timely story that sticks with viewers long after the curtains close. “This is not a light, fluffy piece,” she says of the play, in which each of the four protagonists must choose how best to survive in a volatile situation. “But I’m hoping the audience will walk away with a little bit of hope.” See Heads at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday nights through October 29; for tickets, $20 to $22 (or two-for-one on Tuesdays), visit www.andtototoo.org or call 1-866-811-4111.
Tuesdays-Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: Sept. 30. Continues through Oct. 29, 2009