Swamped

An original play by western MA playwright Court Dorsey, exploring clash and reconciliation of red/blue state values and other social issues

Written and directed by Court Dorsey, Swamped is a new play featuring Steve Eldredge, Joe Laur, Izzy Miller and Heather Willey.  Sound design by Brian Bender, set by Tim Holcomb, costumes by Izzy Miller.

World premier: Wendell Meetinghouse (Wendell, MA), October 16-26, 2025 (8 performances, ~500 participants)
Additional performances: East Street Studio (Hadley, MA), December 6-7, 2025 and New England Youth Theatre (Brattleboro, VT), January 17-18, 2026.

The Captain’s lost his wife — he’s marooned in assisted living.  He asks his caregiver Clove, “You’re not going to try to change the equipment, are you?”  “The equipment is my body, Captain.” ”But you are who you are for a reason!”  “What reason?” asks Clove.   “How the hell should I know?  I can’t even find my shoes!” 

Meanwhile Stephen, the son of The Captain’s dead war buddy, is trip-wired for trauma. “You old men.  You ship out and leave your goddamn carcasses for the rest of us to clean up!”  But his girlfriend Kat is the one shipping out — to Provincetown, “I may not be in love with any MAN!  If I do come back, it’ll be with conditions.”

“Things are so cockeyed down here in this crooked Disneyland anymore!”  Even with all the laughs in this cautionary tale, everyone is SWAMPED!

Co-producer Betsy Williams writes, “This play pushes us to grapple with many of the coexisting and sometimes contradictory cultural issues of our time — gender fluidity, control of our bodies, aging, competing relationship and personal needs, family loyalty versus political conscience.”

“Swamped Is a culture clash of red and blue state values,” says Dorsey. “It’s a healing saga, a cautionary tale. All told, it’s a story of personal contact, which may be the only road to reconciliation we have left.”