TROUBLE (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates)

by Audrey Cefaly

TROUBLE unfolds on the carport of a trailer in Litman, Alabama, where Euba, a former mill worker, finds herself cornered into a birthday she didn’t want. Her mother, Bernie, is determined to celebrate—whether Euba likes it or not. As the night wears on and neighbors drift by—including her best friend Fin, a very pregnant Lila, and a night watchman named YoYo—a raven’s arrival cracks open the silence surrounding...

TROUBLE unfolds on the carport of a trailer in Litman, Alabama, where Euba, a former mill worker, finds herself cornered into a birthday she didn’t want. Her mother, Bernie, is determined to celebrate—whether Euba likes it or not. As the night wears on and neighbors drift by—including her best friend Fin, a very pregnant Lila, and a night watchman named YoYo—a raven’s arrival cracks open the silence surrounding her father’s untimely death.

Set in the aching stillness of a town that’s lost its industry and maybe its way, TROUBLE is a fierce and funny portrait of working-class Southern women grappling with mental illness, addiction, legacy, and love. It is a play about holding on—sometimes too tightly—and learning how to let go.

The fourth installment in Audrey Cefaly’s Alabama Cycle (The Gulf, Alabaster, Maytag Virgin), TROUBLE continues her commitment to the unsung voices of the deep South.

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TROUBLE (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates)

Recommended by

  • Jason Parrish: TROUBLE (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates) by Audrey Cefaly
    “

    Audrey Cefaly never disappoints. Strong Southern women, heartache, catharsis, magical realism, and some great laughs all in one place. Florida Rep showcased this play as part of its 2023 PlayLab, and the reading of an early draft left audiences in awe of how Cefaly tells a story with rich, deep, human (and not human) characters. Read it; it's worth the "trouble."

    Audrey Cefaly never disappoints. Strong Southern women, heartache, catharsis, magical realism, and some great laughs all in one place. Florida Rep showcased this play as part of its 2023 PlayLab, and the reading of an early draft left audiences in awe of how Cefaly tells a story with rich, deep, human (and not human) characters. Read it; it's worth the "trouble."

    ”
  • Kitchen Dog Theater: TROUBLE (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates) by Audrey Cefaly
    “

    We are pleased to support this play! It was a Finalist for the 2023 New Works Festival at Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas, Texas.

    We are pleased to support this play! It was a Finalist for the 2023 New Works Festival at Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas, Texas.

    ”
  • David Beardsley: TROUBLE (at the Vista View Mobile Home Estates) by Audrey Cefaly
    “

    This play is laugh-out-loud funny in so many places, but Cefaly brilliantly resists the tidy ending so common with comedies. There are no neatly tied bows here—even when the play seems poised to head in that direction. It’s messy, and funny, and poignant, and painful, and honest all the way through. A less sophisticated storyteller might have tried to save Euba in the end, or at least to soften her—to make her “see the light.” However, that would have discredited so much that came before. This kind of pain doesn’t resolve so easily.

    This play is laugh-out-loud funny in so many places, but Cefaly brilliantly resists the tidy ending so common with comedies. There are no neatly tied bows here—even when the play seems poised to head in that direction. It’s messy, and funny, and poignant, and painful, and honest all the way through. A less sophisticated storyteller might have tried to save Euba in the end, or at least to soften her—to make her “see the light.” However, that would have discredited so much that came before. This kind of pain doesn’t resolve so easily.

    ”
View all 6 recommendations

Development History

  • Workshop, Barter Theatre (Appalachian New Play Fest), 2023
  • Workshop, Signature Theater (Sigworks), 2023
  • Workshop, Alabama Shakespeare Festival (Southern Writers Festival), 2022

Awards