People’s Light in Malvern is one of 10 regional theaters streaming The Catastrophist. The thought-provoking filmed play addresses issues of family, mortality, and science, writes John Timpane for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The online production is running through May 23 on the theater’s website. People’s Light has created audio-described and American Sign Language versions.

The play is a triumph for author Lauren Gunderson and the play’s sole actor, William DeMeritt. It manages to pack its 70 minutes of runtime with storytelling, discovery, sadness, and love.

Marin Theatre Company of California and the Round House Theatre in Washington, D.C., co-produced the must-see bicoastal piece.

Gunderson, the nation’s most-performed living playwright, is writing the story of her husband, Nathan Wolfe. Wolfe is a scientist, TED Talker, and a predictor of pandemics. In the play, as in real life, he loves the mystery of viruses.

He specializes in “enthusiasm for something that’s grim,” he quips.

The production fits the pandemic era perfectly. It was filmed in an empty theater, making full use of everything available: the actor, stage, and empty seats.

Read more about People’s Light in The Philadelphia inquirer.