The Perverse: Borna Barzin's Play on Perversity Opens at Brooklyn's QNCC

Playwright Borna Barzin's new play The Perverse premieres September 24-27 at Brooklyn's Queer Nightlife Community Center (QNCC), a warehouse transformed into a stage for the first time. The play, which Barzin wrote without initial plans for production, explores a medical facility treating 'the most sick and twisted perverts' through confession. It was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's short story 'The Imp of the Perverse' and influenced by playwright Charles Mee. The cast includes Samuel H. Levine, Ken Barnett, N'yomi Allure Stewart, Hari Nef, and James Cusati-Moyer, with music by DJ Lauren Flax. Barzin, a Juilliard graduate student, is the inaugural resident of QNCC's Theater Residency program. The production is championed by Jordan Tannahill and Hari Nef, and produced by QNCC founders Seva Granik and Michael Falco, with set design by Bond Architects and lighting by Gum Gum Studios. Barzin describes the play as a cross-cultural collaboration between theater and nightlife, aiming to give back to the community that raised him. He hopes audiences experience catharsis and appreciate the cultural work involved. The play withholds information to create a shifting experience, revealing deeper layers of self-destruction and desire.