Event poster for theatre exile presenting two plays as part of an extraordinary series in Philadelphia from February 26 to March 15, 2025. The poster features stylized images of three women, one with curly hair, one with long hair, and one wearing a firefighter helmet, with bold text advertising the event.

FEBRUARY 26th through MARCH 15th


A collage of four images. Top left: a character in a koala costume with a miner's helmet against a dark background. Top right: a book cover titled "Heart Ripped Out Twice And So Can You!" featuring a woman with short dark hair and tattoos, with a skeleton in the background. Bottom left: a drag queen with curly hair, dramatic makeup, and large jewelry, posed with a hand on their head. Bottom right: a black background with the word "GRIT" in large yellow letters, a red burst with "2025," and a small red rectangle with "PHILLY."

2025 Philly GRIT Lineup

  • A woman dressed as a firefighter with dog-like features, including a nose and fur on her face, wearing a firefighter helmet, with the title 'KOAL' and author names Jacinta Yelland and Trey Lyford at the bottom.

    KOAL

    By Jacinta Yelland

    Part climate-catastrophe, part clown show— KOAL is a one-woman show for the end of the world. As wildfires tear through Australia, a baby koala, a coal miner and an Indigenous girl desperately strive to hold onto their homes before all burns and turns to ash.   KOAL is an interactive solo-show, performed by Jacinta Yelland and directed by Trey Lyford, that immerses the audience in the middle of the 2019 Australian bushfires. The show follows two eyewitnesses to this climate catastrophe; Koal, a baby koala recovering at a wildlife sanctuary after being saved from a nearby wildfire, and Stevo, a career coal miner trapped in a collapsed mine hundreds of meters underground. Woven throughout is the story of Minah, an Indigenous girl who was removed from her home and interned by her government during WWII.   Using documentary theatre, clown, and audience interaction, KOAL takes the audience from laughter to tears as it explores what is lost when your home is erased. 

    Running time approx 60 min

  • Book cover titled 'Heart Ripped Out: And So Can You!' by Linnea Bond, featuring a woman with an expressive face, a short hairstyle, and blue eyes, positioned inside a human skeleton with a purple background. The cover includes quotes from reviews and awards, such as 'Witty and moving' from Broad Street Review and 'Truly excellent' from Edmonton Journal.

    Heart Ripped Out Twice And So Can You!

    By Linnea Bond

    An enthusiastic sales representative pitches you on existence, but the darker realities of life keep pushing through her carefully constructed presentation - not to mention phone calls that make this sale personal. Written after a harrowing health journey and a devastating breakup, Linnea wonders: is it worth it?  A (mostly) comedy about pain.


    Running Time - 65 min

Graphic text that says 'Bonus Gift' with the word 'Bonus' in a red, rectangular stamp and the word 'Gift' in large yellow letters with black outline.

CAMP COOKIE

Philly Grit will end with Camp Cookie featuring Cookie D’iorio, Philadelphia-based drag performer, classically trained vocalist, songwriter, activist, and lover of all things sparkly!! Camp Cookie is a speakeasy Cabaret filled with music, laughter, drinks and of course… cookies.    

MEET THE TEAM

  • JACINTA YELLAND

    JACINTA YELLAND

    Jacinta Yelland is an Australian theatre creator and performer of Chinese and Torres Strait Islander descent based in Philadelphia, USA. Jacinta has collaborated with David Gordon, Opera Philadelphia, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Quintessence Theatre Group, People’s Light, The Berserker Residents, Tribe of Fools, and Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists. She holds an MFA in Devised Performance from University of the Arts/Pig Iron, completed the Zen Zen Zo Company Internship, and studied at École Philippe Gaulier, Paris. Jacinta’s solo show KOAL, co-created with Trey Lyford, is the recipient of the 2023 Philadelphia Fringe Festival 5 Star Award. KOAL has been presented at Ars Nova, the 2024 Australian Theatre Festival NYC, Theatre Works, and the 2025 PhysFestNYC. Her work has been supported by Creative Australia, Arts Queensland, American Australian Association, Network of Ensemble Theaters, The Work, The Puffin Foundation Ltd., and the City of Philadelphia. www.jacintayelland.com

  • LINNEA BOND

    LINNEA BOND

    Linnea Bond is a Philly-based performance artist, activist, and teacher exploring apocalypse on a personal, interpersonal, and global scale. She works in the intersection of sociology and storytelling, designing communal, immersive, invitational and other live action events along a spectrum of traditional and non-traditional live performance, and direct/street and artistic activism primarily related to the climate crisis. She has been touring Heart Ripped Out Twice And So Can You! nationally and internationally since its Cannonball/Philly Fringe premiere in 2022, and will be performing it next Off-Broadway at Soho Playhouse in April/May. In addition to her devising work and stage acting, she has also worked as a director, dramaturg, and playwright, and as an actor in Todd Haynes’ films, Carol and Dark Waters. Future work, ticket links, and opportunities to join environmental justice actions at @linnea.bond on IG or https://linktr.ee/linneabond.

  • COOKIE DIORIO

    COOKIE DIORIO

    Cookie Diorio is a Philadelphia-based drag performer, a classically trained vocalist, a songwriter, an activist, a husband, music teacher and lover of all things sparkly. She mastered walking in 5 inch stilettos in the night clubs of Boston, achieved her hair fantasy by studying vintage videos of Grace Bumbry and founded the giving project Art of the Heel. Cookie grew up in historic Auburn, NY with gospel in her ears, civil rights in her blood and many songs in her heart. She trained at Ithaca College in the voice studio of Angus Godwin and learned the many different skills of western classical music from master teachers such as Carol McAmis in vocal pedagogy, Lawrence Doebler in choral arts, Dana Wilson in composition and Patrick Hansen in opera coaching. While Cookie has been in and out of the drag scene since 2002, she began performing regularly in the Philadelphia area as host of the Art Song Repertory Theater Company’s salon series “Saturday Afternoon Drinking Songs” in 2013. Since, she has produced the shows Fire In My Bones: A Gospel Jubilee, Beauty From Our Sorrows, Telling Herstories, Forces of Nature, Music: The Food of Love and I, Too, Sing America. She has also been soloist for events, galas, concerts and on the cabaret stage.

    https://houseofdiorio.com/about-2/

SHOW DATES


PRESS