Theatre Exile presents "Gruesome Playground Injuries"

Theatre Exile presents "Gruesome Playground Injuries"

play follows two friends across three decades of bad choices, physical wounds, and a relationship neither can quite escape

Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 11/05/2026

Jenna Kuerzi and Daniel Burgess, photo by Paola Nogueras

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- South Philadelphia-based theater company Theatre Exile kicks off its 30th anniversary season with the return of Rajiv Joseph's acclaimed Gruesome Playground Injuries to its stage, following Kayleen and Doug through three decades of friendship, heartbreak, physical wounds, and choices that leave lasting marks. Gruesome Playground Injuries runs now through November 15, 2026.

Directed by Theatre Exile Producing Artistic Director Deborah Block, the darkly funny two-hander explores the joys of true love and the pain that we find when we avoid it, and begs the question: would you rather have a broken heart or a broken bone?

Theatre Exile first staged Gruesome Playground Injuries in 2011, in what was the first production of Joseph’s work in Philadelphia. Bringing the play back to the stage during the company’s 30th season offers Theatre Exile an opportunity to revisit a playwright and work that became part of its history while introducing Kayleen and Doug’s story to a new audience.

“Gruesome Playground Injuries is a perfect Exile show to bring back for our 30th anniversary. It uses our trademark humor and intimate storytelling to show the sides of ourselves that we often keep in the dark,” said Block. “This seemingly simple coming-of-age story allows the audience to love these two broken souls as we see the vulnerability that they hide from the rest of the world. Even though there is often danger behind their decisions, their rawness allows us to see ourselves as they navigate the choices of life.”

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info

Photo by Paola Nogueras

For Kayleen and Doug, pain has a funny way of bringing them together. The two meet at eight years old in their elementary school nurse’s office, where Kayleen has a painful stomach ache and Doug arrives battered and bloodied after taking a running dive off the school roof. It is the first of many encounters that will bring them back into each other’s lives. From ages eight to 38, injuries, heartbreak, and a whole lot of bad choices repeatedly reunite the pair.

Told through non-linear scenes that move backward and forward in time, Gruesome Playground Injuries gradually reveals how Kayleen and Doug’s choices and wounds shape who they become. As they try to find their own paths, their decisions carry consequences that are both emotional and physical. The injuries that accumulate over the years become visible reminders of those choices, while their enduring connection raises questions about the relationships people cannot quite escape.

There is tenderness and humor in Kayleen and Doug’s relationship, but also danger. Their attempts to cope with pain and make choices for themselves repeatedly leave lasting marks. In Gruesome Playground Injuries, consequences are not only emotional; they are often quite literally written on the characters’ bodies.

Joseph’s two-character play has been recognized for finding humor and tenderness within the painful and often bizarre circumstances that bring Kayleen and Doug together. Variety described “this wondrous strange two-hander examines its subject in a spare absurdist style that finds as much humor as horror in the play’s bizarre events.”

The Theatre Exile production brings together Jenna Kuerzi (she/her) as Kayleen and Daniel Burgess (he/him) as Doug. Kuerzi is a Philadelphia actor and singer whose recent stage work has earned multiple Barrymore Award nominations, including a 2024 Outstanding Leading Performance in a Play nomination for Camp Siegfried at Theatre Exile. In 2025, Kuerzi received three additional Barrymore nominations for her work in Grease and GayMis, with GayMis winning Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical.

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info

Photo by Paola Nogueras

Burgess is a Philadelphia actor, writer, and theatermaker whose recent stage work includes playing Calvin in Arden Theatre Company’s A Wrinkle in Time, for which he received a 2026 Barrymore Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play, and George in Stop Kiss with South Camden Theatre Company. A graduate of the University of the Arts, Burgess has also toured nationally with Enchantment Theatre Company and founded Ubin Theatre, where he develops, writes, directs, and performs original work, including productions presented as part of Philadelphia’s Fringe Festival.

With a dynamic creative team bringing Kayleen and Doug’s physically and emotionally charged world to life, Theatre Exile’s Gruesome Playground Injuries creates a visual and sensory landscape for a story shaped by injury, intimacy, and the lasting consequences of choice. Set Designer Colin McIlvaine shapes the spaces that hold the pair’s encounters across three decades, while Lighting Designer Drew Billau helps guide the play’s shifts through time and a changing emotional landscape. Costume Designer Millie Hiibel helps trace Kayleen and Doug from childhood into adulthood, while Props Designer Nana Nimako brings detail to the physical world surrounding their injuries and repeated reunions. Liz Atkinson adds another layer to the production’s environment. Together, the design elements support Joseph’s non-linear storytelling and the physical and emotional marks Kayleen and Doug carry throughout their lives.

The production team also includes Melody Wong as stage manager, Amir Watkins as assistant stage manager, Sydney Cain-Frazier as production manager, Natali Merrill as audio engineer, Annie Zulick as master electrician, Casie Weaver as board operator, Brian McCann as scenic painter, and Jordan Neff as dramaturg.

Audiences can purchase Flex Pass Subscriptions for $45, which include four single tickets valid for any show date during the season. Single tickets for Theatre Exile’s upcoming productions are available now, starting at $10. Purchase tickets online or by calling the Theatre Exile box office at 215-218-4022. The theater is located at (1340 S. 13th Street in Philadelphia, PA.

Jenna Kuerzi and Daniel Burgess, photo by Paola Nogueras

Founded in 1996, Theatre Exile is a nonprofit theater company located in South Philadelphia committed to sparking dialogue that strengthens the community by developing and staging timely and provocative plays. The theater’s productions explore the complexities of the human condition with a sense of Philadelphia grit and passion. Theatre Exile strives to raise the social well-being of its community by creating a supportive and creative environment where artists, audiences, and our entire community can experiment, grow, and find their voices.